Composition of Love
by Mavelle1
Summary: Bella and Edward meet in college and fall in love. Circumstances separate them, but their love for each other never dies. What happens when they're reunited? Will true love win? Or have time, space, and new relationships consumed them? AH/OOC
1. Prologue

**AN: EEK! Here it is, my lovelies. My first multi-chapter story. Now, I've been running around with this idea in my head for a while and finally decided that it was time to get it out there. I have to give MASSIVE thanks to my girl, pattsylove. Without her encouragement, I would've chickened out a long time ago. If you've not read her stuff, shame on you! Run, do NOT walk, and read immediately. Seriously girl, you know I love ya! Thanks for everything!**

**I've got big things coming for these two. Bear with me. There WILL be happiness for all in the end, but as we all know, life isn't sunshine and roses all the time. Don't worry though, nothing our favorite couple can't get through!**

**Here we go! Enjoy! *walks away, wringing hands together and muttering "God I hope they like this...."***

Prologue

BPOV

Sitting in the crowded bar, I began to question myself.

_What in the HELL am I doing here? What if he doesn't show? What if he does?_

I grabbed my drink and quickly downed what I had left. My waitress brought me another one right away per my instructions to "keep 'em coming" as I sat down earlier. Somehow I thought that having a few drinks was going to keep my emotions in check.

_Like that's going to work. _

I sighed. You know how they say that alcohol is supposed to impair your judgment? Make your thinking fuzzy? Yeah, well that night the drinking just made one thing perfectly clear.

I missed him. Still. After over five years of not laying eyes on one another, the painful gash in my heart still hurt just as bad. Sure, we had talked a few times over the years, but it just wasn't the same. I scanned the bar quickly, checking to see if he had walked in and I missed it.

_Not here. Fuck, he's not coming. _

The opening guitar strains to "Here Without You" started and I could feel my breathing start to pick up a little. _Shit,_ I thought. _This is NOT the time, nor the place to be having a panic attack. Breathe Bella._

My mind ran through all of our memories together. How we met, our first kiss, the first time we made love…it was all still so clear. I tried, unsuccessfully, to push back the one memory I couldn't bear to think about. The day we broke up. My heart clenched painfully at the thought. I closed my eyes for a minute, trying to reign in the sadness I still felt to that very day.

And then I heard it.

"Bella?"

My eyes shot open and I looked up. As soon as emerald green eyes met chocolate brown ones, everything disappeared. The hurt, the loss, hell the last five years all together. Gone with one look.

"Edward, you came."

*****

**AHHHH! He came!**

**It's short, I know. But chapter one is finished and will be up in a matter of moments! Yay! The song mentioned is "Here Without You" by 3 Doors Down. Listen very closely to it. That one and a few other songs are going to play an important role in their relationship. *Looks around quickly* So....there's a little button down there. See it? Yeah? Okay, good. Just push it and tell me what you think. **


	2. Ch 1 Home Sweet Home

**Here we go! Chapter one. No long AN this time, just fluffy happiness, and a few surprises! **

**BPOV**

"Dammit, Bella! Quit chewing on your fingernails! I didn't take you for a manicure just so you could eat it!"

I looked down, and sure enough, I had bitten some of the pretty paint off of my fingers. I raised my fingers back to my mouth, and swiped the front of my tongue with them. When I pulled them away, they had traces of nail polish bits on them.

"Alice? Is nail polish toxic? Because I think I just ingested some."

Alice looked at me and raised one perfectly waxed eyebrow. "I'm sure it is, Bella, but I don't think that thirty seconds of chewing on it is going to kill you. " She grabbed my hand and inspected it closely, huffing loudly at what she saw. "Though it _will_ destroy that manicure!" She turned around and I could hear her muttering under her breath about nails and teeth and who knows what else.

I took a look around me, still not believing that I was starting college. We were standing in line to get our housing assignments, both of us _praying_ that we would get to room with each other. The school we were attending had co-ed suites, three boys on one side in a room and three girls on the other with a common room dividing them. If Alice and I got to room together that would mean that we only had to deal with one new girl instead of two each. As the line inched forward, I took the opportunity to check out some of the other freshman who would be joining us.

"Ali, who do you think our other roommate will be?"

"Fuck, I don't know. I hope she's got decent fashion sense, though. I don't think I can handle having to dress TWO people every day."

I rolled my eyes at her statement. "You know Ali," I said, "no one said you had to dress me every single day. This is college. It's perfectly acceptable to walk around in comfortable clothing. It doesn't have to be a fashion show every time you walk out the door."

"Um, Bella? I'm a design major. My life is going to be filled with fashion shows, so why not start now? Besides, if I let you dress yourself every day, you'd be walking around in your pajama pants, with a zip-up hoodie and flip-flops. And I am _not_ about to let you ruin your image that way."

"My _image_? Really, Alice? I'm a voice major. I'm gonna spend ninety percent of my time in the Arts building taking lessons and practicing. I doubt anyone is going to care what I look like."

"You hush. You need to find yourself a man, and you're not going to do it by looking like you just rolled out of bed and threw on the first thing your hands found." She gave me a smug look, like she was pleased with her assessment of how my days would start.

"You don't have a man either," I countered. "Are you planning on finding one for yourself?" I asked, trying to subtly change the subject.

"Oh yes!" She squealed. "I know he's here. I can feel it. And he's close, too." Alice never could resist boy talk.

I looked around a bit more, and my eyes caught a flash of strangely colored hair, weaving through the crowd. I couldn't see the rest of the person attached to the hair, but I got this odd feeling in the pit of my stomach.

_What the hell? I wonder if I had some bad sushi last night. What color is that anyway? Reddish, brownish, goldish…I'll just go with bronze. Fuck if I can think of a better name for it. _

I shook my head lightly as the line moved forward again. There was only one person in front of us now.

As soon as that person was done, Alice and I stepped up to the table. The guy working the table had his head down, and all we could see was a mop of wavy blond hair.

"Name?" His soft voice was deeply affected by a southern drawl.

"Mary Alice Brandon and Isabella Swan. Though I'll ask you to call me Alice, and I'm pretty sure if you call _her_ Isabella, she may just have to kill you."

Southern boy looked up from his papers finally, a small smirk crossing his face. "Well now, we wouldn't want that, would we?" He looked directly at Alice, his eyes never really leaving hers.

_Maybe getting a room together will be easier than we thought…._

"I'm Jasper Whitlock. Nice to meet you, ladies. I'm assuming that since you're standing at my table, you'll be needing your room assignments?"

"Absolutely, Jasper. We were hoping that there might be a way that we would be able to room together. You see, Bella here is terribly shy and I just think that the transition would be easier for her if she were to only have to meet one new person." Alice gave Jasper her best smile, and I could see him start to crumble right there.

"Alice," I hissed in her ear. "What are you doing? Why are you using me as an out for this?"

"Do you want to room together or not? Now shut up and follow my lead!" She whispered furiously.

"Ladies, I think you may be in luck. There's one room left that has two open spots. If you like, I'll put your names down for it. I think you'll find your suitemates to be _very_ friendly."

Alice lit up like the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. "Oh Jasper, that would be wonderful. See Bella, I told you it would all work out!"

I decided to play along for a moment. "Thank you Jasper. I really appreciate it," I said in a shy, soft voice. I caught his eyes for half a second before dropping them to the floor.

"No problem, Bella. I'll see you ladies around. Soon." He smiled at Alice as he said that last word.

_Hmmm…I wonder what he means by that._

As we walked away, Alice started bouncing up and down. "Bellsie, I knew it would all work out! Let's go over to the hall and get checked in there."

As we walked through the crowds, I caught sight of that hair again, but this time I could see the face of the person it belonged to.

_Oh my damn…. _

He had to be the most unbelievably beautiful man I'd ever had the pleasure of laying my eyes on. I didn't get to study him much longer, due to the fact that Alice had a death grip on my hand that I had little hope of escaping. She was dragging me out the door and down the walkway to our hall.

On the way there, we talked a little about what it was going to be like having co-ed suites.

"I hope that the guys are at least nice," I said. "It would suck to have to room with three assholes."

"I don't think we're going to have a problem with the guys. Remember what Jasper said? He said that we would find them 'very friendly'. I can't wait to meet them. I have a feeling we're going to be pleasantly surprised."

_Alice and her damn "feelings". Though, I suppose it's a good thing she's never wrong. Maybe this WILL turn out to be alright._

We got to the hall and got checked in. The RA gave us our welcome packets and we sat down on the couch in the lobby to see what we received. Inside were our keys to the suite, some papers, and a schedule of the times the food court, computer lab, and hall store were open. People milled all around us, chatting and looking at the pages everyone was holding.

Alice yanked one of the papers out, read it quickly, and then proceeded to squeal so high I was sure only dogs could hear it. "Bellsie! It's an icebreaker game! Come on, let's do it. It'll be fun."

_Icebreaker? What the..._

"Ali, tell me why in the world I would want to do an icebreaker? Apparently I'm too shy to meet new people, remember?"

"Oh shut up, you know I just said that so we could room together. Trust me, you'll love it."

"Let me guess, you have a _feeling _about it? What is it with you and your 'feelings' today, Alice? It's only eleven-thirty and you've been having them about everything."

"I don't know, there's just something about today, or maybe it's this place. Fuck it, whatever. Just do this with me, please?" she pleaded.

I sighed. "Fine, what do I have to do?"

"Yay! Okay, you read the description and you find someone that fits it. When you find them, you have them sign your paper. It's the perfect way to meet the people in our hall!"

_Ugh. Only Alice would find this fun. _

I rolled my eyes and pulled my own paper out. I looked at the first description. "Find one person who has a different major than you. Really? That's like, everyone. Here, Alice. You sign it. You're fashion, I'm not."

Alice snorted. "No kidding," she muttered under her breath.

"I heard that, you brat," I retorted. She looked at me and grinned. We grabbed each other's papers and signed our names and handed them back.

"Alright, go off and meet some people!" Alice took off like a lightning bolt, leaving me in a lobby full of strangers.

_Well shit. Now what do I do?_

I looked closer at the list of things on the page.

_Find someone with the same major as you. Christ, could this be any more stupid?_

I wandered around looking for people to sign my paper. Thankfully, plenty of people came up to me and I was able to fill most of the spaces. I found a couple of people that I would have some classes with, and even one girl who had the same major as me. I was getting a little tired, and frankly pissed off that I couldn't find the last thing on my list. I had to find someone who had the same number of letters in their first and last name as I did. Sounds easy enough, right? Yeah, not so much. I didn't know if I was going by Bella Swan, or Isabella Swan. I decided to just let it go.

I wandered to an empty room just off the lobby. People were starting to bring their stuff in to move into their suites, but I wanted to wait until Alice came back. I looked around a little bit, and saw an old upright piano near the back.

_Maybe I'll just practice for a few minutes. _

Since I was majoring in music, voice specifically, I was required to take piano. I had never taken it when I was young, but as soon as I found out it was a requirement for my major, I found a teacher in my hometown who was willing to tutor me over the summer. I wasn't great by any means, but I could get by.

I sat down and did a few scales to see if it was in tune. Strangely enough, it was. I played a little bit of the one piece I had memorized over the summer. It was a pretty tune, soft and alluring. Just as I lifted my hands from the keys, I heard someone clear their throat.

I jumped up, thinking it was one of the RA's coming to tell me that I shouldn't be in here.

"I'm so sorry," I started. "I didn't know I wasn't supposed to be here. I'll leave right away." I started gathering my papers when I heard them speak.

"No! You don't have to leave. I just wanted to tell you that you were playing beautifully." His voice was like velvet. I turned around and my heart almost stopped.

_It's him._

It was the same man I'd seen twice that day already. Same bronze hair, same strong chin…he was just as beautiful as I remembered.

"Oh, um, thanks," I said shyly. "I'm not really very good. I just started over the summer. I wanted a head start for classes this year."

"Well, I've been playing since I was six, and I think you did great for only having a couple of months under your belt." He came toward me and sat down on the piano bench. "I'm Edward Cullen," he said.

"Hi, I'm Bella, um, Bella Swan." He put his hand out to shake mine, and as soon as our skin met there was this...current...that ran straight up my arm. I took in a small, sharp breath and pulled my hand away softly. I didn't want to offend him, after all.

"So Bella, what are you doing in here all by your lonesome?"

"I was just getting away from the crowd a little. My best friend and roommate, Alice, disappeared when we started this ridiculous icebreaker thing, and I thought while I waited for her I'd relax a little bit. When I saw the piano, I couldn't help myself."

He smiled at me. It was a sweet, crooked smile that probably would get me to do just about anything he wanted. "Did you get your icebreaker finished? I'm still missing one. The fucking thing was weird. I met people that I don't ever want to see again. I'm seriously just considering tossing it in the garbage. But I know Emmett's going to want to see if we met any of the same girls." He eyed me warily for a second. "You didn't meet an Emmett, did you?"

I laughed. "Nope, no Emmetts on my paper. I think I'm with you on tossing the damn thing. I'm only missing one, too. You wouldn't think it would be difficult finding someone who has the same freaking number of letters in their name as you, but fuck! It's the only thing I can't find!"

Edward got this contemplative look on his face. "Hey, is Bella short for anything?"

"Yeah, Isabella. Why?"

"Baby, sign your name right here and give me that paper in your hand." I looked at him, confused. "Edward Cullen, twelve letters. Isabella Swan, also twelve letters. Looks like we just needed to find each other."

_Oh I DEFINITELY needed to find you….wait, what?_

I blushed as I smiled at him, and we traded papers for a second.

_No way in HELL am I throwing this away now!_

We both signed our names and traded back. We talked a little more, just about things to do with school. I found out that he was a music major too, though he was in composition and I was in voice. We spoke about what classes we were taking, who we had met because of our little sheets of paper. Suddenly, I heard the door hit the wall as it flew open and saw Alice strolling into the room.

"Bella! Where have you been? I've been looking for you for half an hour!"

I glanced up at the clock and realized that I'd been sitting in this room for almost an hour. Most of that time with the amazingly hot Edward.

"Sorry, Alice. I just escaped in here to get away from the crowds and found the piano. I guess Edward had the same idea, 'cause he came in and we just got to talking an-"

"Jeez, Bellsie! I'm not mad at you, chill out babe," she said. She turned a little and looked at Edward, who was wearing a slightly amused look on his face. "You must be the Edward she's babbling about. I'm Alice Brandon." She held her hand out and he took it, shaking it lightly.

"Nice to meet you, Alice. Edward Cullen."

"Likewise." She smiled brightly at him, and then looked back at me.

_Fuck, I know that look…_

"Well, Bella, I hate to be a killjoy, but we've got to get our shit moved in. Plus, we've got suitemates to meet."

I sighed heavily. "You're right." I looked over at Edward. "It was great meeting you, Edward. I hope we run into each other again."

"We will, don't worry. Besides, it wouldn't surprise me if we ended up having a class together at some point."

I laughed. "You're right. I suppose two music majors would have some type of class together." I started toward the door, turning only wave shyly at him as I left. He smiled and waved back. Alice grabbed my hand and pulled me to the door.

I couldn't be sure, but as we walked out, I thought I heard him whisper, "Until we meet again, Bella."

**EPOV**

When I woke up, never in my wildest dreams did I think I would meet an angel. I'm talking a real life, sent straight from God Himself, angel. But there I was, after having the most innocent of conversations, _reeling_ because of the mahogany-haired beauty that had just walked out. Okay, so maybe heaven-sent is a bit of an exaggeration, but there's just no better way of describing her. I got up off of the chair I had been occupying, and made my way to the door. I could still smell her in the room. It was a very distinct scent, like strawberries and some type of flower.

_I'll have to find out what that is. It's incredible._

I got back to the lobby, and found Emmett talking to a beautiful, statuesque blond woman. Next to her was a shaggy haired man.

"Edward!" Emmett boomed. "Get your ass over here so I can introduce you to the hottest woman on the planet." The beautiful blond woman looked at him with her eyebrow arched, then proceeded to smack him upside the head. "Ow!" he cried. "What the hell?"

"I _have_ a name you neanderthal."

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "Edward, I'd like you to meet Rosalie Hale, and her brother Jasper. Jasper's going to be our roommate, and Rose is in the same suite as us!" He looked positively giddy at this revelation.

I smiled warmly at Rosalie, and shook hands quickly with Jasper. "Nice to meet you both. Did you get your things moved up to the rooms?"

Jasper snorted. "Yeah, my shit's up there, but Rose'll probably need some assistance. Hell, I was working all morning and managed to get moved, I don't know what her excuse is."

Rosalie just shrugged. "Well, I'm a girl. We have far more things that we need and use than you male-types."

Emmett slung his arm around her shoulder and she glanced sideways at him. "Rosie," he said. "You just leave it to us. We'll help ya get your stuff into your room. After all, what are roommates for?" he asked, wagging his eyebrows at her.

He got an elbow to the stomach for that one.

_I like this girl. She'll keep him on his toes for sure._

"Come along boys," she said. "Apparently I have too much shit, so I'll need some help." She started out the door and Jasper, Emmett and I just looked at each other, shrugged and jogged off to help her.

As we started unloading boxes and taking them up the three flights of stairs, I noticed that Rosalie's roommates hadn't arrived. Or if they had, they certainly hadn't moved anything in yet. Emmett was practically bouncing up and down, he was so excited. Now, on its own, that's a funny image. Just think, some random guy _bouncing_ all over the place. Then picture this: a very _large _man, we're talking six foot five, two hundred and fifty pounds of _muscle_ bouncing all over the place. Fucking funny as hell!

Once we got all of Rosalie's boxes up to her room, I ran down the hall and grabbed a few drinks from the vending machine, bringing them back so we could talk a little and get to know one another.

"So, you guys seem to know each other already," Jasper said.

"Yeah," I replied. "Emmett's my cousin and probably my best friend."

"Probably! What the fuck, dude? You KNOW I'm your best friend. Who else would put up with your pansy ass?" Emmett retorted.

"Fuck off, Em. I'm not a pansy, you douchebag." I glared at him while Jasper and Rosalie snickered at us. "Where are you guys from?" I asked before taking a drink of my water.

"Texas, Dallas to be exact," Rosalie said. "Jasper didn't want to leave at first, but I think he's singin' a different tune now." She looked over at him and grinned. His ears turned just the _slightest_ shade of pink.

"Dammit, Rose. Why are you pullin' that shit out right now?" he complained.

"What are you talking about?" Emmett asked, obviously confused.

_Fuck, I'm right there with him._

"Oh, just the fact that he spied his 'future wife' this morning, at residence registration." She used air quotes to make her point. "And then the dumb bastard thought it would be smart to make her room with his sister."

"I swear to God, Rosalie. If you scare her away, I'll never forgive you!"

"Whatever, you know I'm just looking out for you. But I'll be nice...if she's not completely tragic."

Emmett and I just sat back and watched the exchange between brother and sister. It was obvious to anyone who was around them for more than ten minutes that they were as close as siblings could be, regardless of the teasing.

Just as we were getting settled back into normal conversation, someone knocked on the door before letting themselves in.

"Hi!"

_Wait, I know that voice. That's not….no, it couldn't be. I'm not that lucky._

Much to my surprise, in walks Bella's little pixie-like friend.

_What was her name again?_

"Jasper?" she asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?" Her smile was so big; it was surely going to crack her face in two.

"Well, Rosalie here is my sister. And, um, I'll be living with Edward and Emmett in the other room," he answered.

"Edward? What do you mean Edwa-" she started, before turning to face me head on. "Oh, this is fucking _perfect_!" she squealed.

"What's perfect?" asked Emmett. "What the hell is going on? Someone fill me in!"

"See, Em, remember when I left for a little bit earlier?" He nodded. "Well, I ended up in a room just off the lobby. I had heard someone playing the piano from in there and went in to check it out. There was a girl there playing. We talked a little bit before the small one here," I nodded to Alice, "came in and stole her away."

Emmett paused for a second, before busting out in laughter. "So let me get this straight. Jasper, our new roommate, is living across the common room from his sister, who is rooming with his new girlfriend, who just happens to be friends with your apparent dream girl. Is that about right?"

I nodded, Jasper blushed at the word "girlfriend", Alice giggled a little, and Rosalie snorted once.

"Oh, fuck! This shit is priceless! Alice, where would your friend happen to be at the moment? I think she and Eddie here need a little reunion."

"Don't call me Eddie, asshole. You know I hate that," I growled at him.

Alice laughed. "Bella's on her way. She got held up by some skeez trying to hit on her."

_What the fuck? Who is it? I'll beat them down. She's mine! Wait, where did that come from?_

"Hey, Alice? Is Bella rooming with you guys too?"

"You better believe it. I convinced Jazz here to let us room together." She smiled warmly at him.

All of a sudden, the door opened up and Bella came stumbling in.

"I swear, Alice. That ass doesn't know how to take 'no' for an answer. If I wanted to go out with him, I'd have said yes the first time he asked!" she ranted while she set down the box she was carrying.

I wanted to say something, but I didn't want to scare her. Thankfully, Alice had her own plans.

"Bellsie, do you remember that guy you were talking to earlier? What was his name again?"

"Uh, _yeah_ I remember. How do you forget someone like that? Edward. His name was Edward."

_How do you forget someone like that? Does that mean that she's attracted to me, too? Fuck, I hope so._

"Well, I have a little surprise for you," said Alice.

"What? What could you _possibly_ have to surprise me with?"

"This." Alice grabbed Bella by the shoulders and spun her around to face me. When her beautiful brown eyes landed on me, her face paled a little and she emitted a small gasp, bringing her hand up to her mouth.

I gave her my best heart-stopping smile and said, "Hey, Bella. Looks like we're suitemates."

Alice leaned into Bella and whispered in her ear. "Surprise, Bellsie."

**Surprise indeed! Suitemates...I wonder how this will turn out. Whatever, y'all know there's gonna be some laughs, drinks and lemons ahead. I won't leave you hangin' for too long. So hit that little button right there and tell me what you thought. Reviewers get to room with Edward for a little while...**


	3. Ch 2 Fun and Flirting

**Okay, here's the somewhat long awaited chapter 2! This was a pain in the ass for a while, but I got it out. Let me just say a MASSIVE thanks to my girl Pattsylove, who not only rec'd me in her last chapter of Give and Take, but added some awesomeness to _this_ chapter. Also, my absolute thanks goes out to Pauline, one half of the amazing NJNYTwigals, who also rec'd me in their amazing story Where There's Smoke. If you're one of the few unfortunate people who are not reading BOTH of these stories, well, let's just say you've got some catching up to do! Thanks to everyone who pushed me to get this out. I might've given up without it. **

**So, here we go! Oh, by the way. I don't own anything. Seriously. Oh well, at least the story's mine!**

**BPOV**

"_Hey Bella, looks like we're suitemates."_

I think I stopped breathing with those six words.

_How can this be? Can someone tell me what the fuck is going on?_

I looked back at Alice. "Alice," I whispered. "What is he talking about? He's one of our suitemates? Do you realize who that is?" I was panicking. Alice could see it.

"Bella, of course I know who that is. I'm not stupid. Aren't you excited? You get to live with your fuckhot piano man!" She said that last part just a _smidge_ louder than I would've liked. Edward chuckled and I blushed bright red.

"Fuckhot piano man? Dude, is she talking about you, Eddie?" I turned to see a very large, but sweet looking man eyeing Edward questioningly.

"Emmett, I swear to all that is holy, if I have to tell you one more time to NOT call me Eddie, I will tell Rosalie here about your little porn collection." Edward looked at the man, daring him to challenge him.

"Dammit, Edward! You could at least wait until she gets to know the real me before you start spoutin' off all that shit!" Big guy was clearly upset at Edward's threat.

"Hold on!" I yelled. "Can someone do some freaking introductions so I know who the hell I'm talking to?"

"Sure, Bella." I turned again, only to see Jasper leaning up against the other doorway.

"Wait, Jasper? Are you rooming here too?" I asked.

"Yep, sure am. Now why don't you sit down so we can all get to know each other." He walked over to me, winked at Alice, and led me over to what I was assuming was going to be my bed. Which also just happened to be the closest spot to where Edward was standing. I sat down and took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm my frazzled nerves. Jasper went over to stand by Alice.

After a few moments, I could speak again. "Okay. I'm alright. Now, who is everyone?"

"I'm Edward." I looked over at him and rolled my eyes. He was still wearing the grin that threatened to melt every bone in my body.

"Yes, thank you. I quite remember who you are," I said with a small giggle.

"I'm Rosalie, your other roommate," said the blond bombshell across from me. "Heads up, I'm a bitch. I know it, I live it, I love it. However, I take care of my own. Stick with me, and you won't have to worry about anyone. So that being said, since you're my roommate that means you're in with me until I have a good reason to kick you out. But I like you anyway; you look like a nice girl who doesn't take people's shit."

"Um," I stammered nervously, "thanks Rosalie." I gave her a tentative smile. She shot me an Oscar winning smile back, topped off with a quick head nod.

The big bear of a man in the corner cleared his throat. My eyes flashed over to him, widening as he stood up and strode across the room toward me. When he got close enough, he busted out a sweet smile as he pulled me off of the bed and into a hug. I must've looked completely freaked out, because I heard Edward say, "Emmett, put the poor girl down. I'm pretty sure we would like to keep her in one piece."

I managed to peek an eye at Edward while I was locked in Emmett's arms and said, "So I take it that _this_ is the Emmett you asked about earlier?" Edward nodded at me while he laughed.

To Emmett's credit, he _did _try to put me down carefully. But seeing as I'm a walking disaster waiting to happen, I didn't get my footing quite right and ended up getting my feet tangled together. I was so sure I was going down that I closed my eyes as I tried to brace myself for an impact that would never come. When my eyes popped open again, I saw Alice laughing so hard she had tears running down her face. Jasper was beside her, looking highly amused, Rosalie snorted once, and Emmett was on the floor laughing almost as hard as Alice. The only person I didn't see was Edward.

_Good job, Bella. He left. Now that he's seen how clumsy you are, he'll never talk to you again._

Did I mention that I tend to be a little overdramatic? Yeah, that's me.

It took me a couple of seconds to register that one, I wasn't on the floor; and two, someone had their arms around me.

"Bella? Are you alright?" I turned around to see Edward looking at me with concern in his eyes.

_Wait, he didn't leave? He…he caught me?_

"Yeah, um, I'm fine. Thank you for, you know, catching me," I muttered.

He leaned in closely and tucked an errant strand of hair behind my ear. Before he moved away, I thought I heard him mumble, "I'll always catch you."

_Huh? Did I hear him right? No, there's no way…is there?_

"Okay, you two lovebirds can make eyes at each other later," Alice said. "Bella, we've got more stuff to bring up. Let go of your fuckhot piano man and move it!"

"Alice!" I screeched. I'm sure I was about as red as a tomato by this point. Edward just laughed as he let me go. I immediately felt lonely, even though he wasn't far from me. "Wait, Alice, you didn't get to introduce yourself."

Alice just laughed at me again. "Bellsie, we finished introductions while you two were busy eyefucking each other. Now let's go." She grabbed my hand and yanked me out the door before I had a chance to say any more.

As Alice and I were walking down the hall to the elevator, we felt two bodies rush past us. We stopped, a little startled by them, and saw that it was Jasper and Edward.

"Do you ladies need any help bringing up your things?" Jasper asked as they both stopped and turned to face us.

"Sure, Jazzy! Come on!" Alice grabbed his arm and practically dragged him down the hall. Edward and I were left alone; him with his mouth gaping open, and me snickering at Alice's enthusiasm.

"Is she always that…energetic?" he asked incredulously.

"Oh yeah, that's my Alice!" I thought that things were going to be awkward between us, especially since he knew that I thought he was "fuckhot" as Alice so eloquently put it, but it wasn't. Sure, there was an underlying sexual tension, at least on my part, but it wasn't uncomfortable.

Edward and I walked down the hall together, laughing at Alice, when all of a sudden a pair of hands grabbed me hard from behind, spun me around, and pushed me up against the wall.

I let out a quick screech before I opened my eyes and instantly recognized who was in front of me. "What the hell do you want now?" I spat at the familiar face.

"Oh, come on. Stop teasing me. I can't take it. Just come out with me, you know you want to." He had moved one arm on either side of my shoulders, effectively trapping me in that small space.

Before I could answer him, one of his arms was ripped away from the wall, and he was shoved backward. Edward pulled me into his arms and held me close to him.

"Bella, honey," he started. "Who is this and is he bothering you?"

"This is Felix, and yes, he is bothering me. He's the one I was ranting about when I came into the room earlier. You know, the one who can't take _no_ for an answer?"

Edward looked livid. He moved me so that I was tucked safely behind him, walked up to Felix and said, "Listen, I don't know you nor do I have any _desire_ to know you. But what I do know is that if you ever, and I mean _ever_ come near, breathe on, or so much as _think _about my girl I will end you. Got it?"

_His girl? What the hell? And where did possessive Edward come from? _

My screech must have been louder than I had intended, because no sooner than Edward finished talking, Emmett popped out of our common room door. "Hey man, everything okay out here?"

"That depends, Emmett, on if this loser continues to bother Bella or not."

Emmett walked closer to us, looked Felix up and down and said, "I don't know what just happened out here, but whatever warning Edward just gave you goes double for me. You need to disappear…._now_."

Felix turned a slight shade of green and took off down the hall, bolting into the bathroom as he reached it.

_Serves you right fucker!_

Emmett looked at me. "You okay, little B?"

"Yeah, I'm alright, Em. Thanks."

"Anytime, little B, anytime. You just let me know if he comes around again." With that, he smiled and walked back to the room.

Edward grabbed me again, pulling me into another hug. "Are you sure you're okay, Bella? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"I don't think so." I pulled up the side of my shirt a little to check the spot where the scumbag's hands were. Before I got a good look, I heard Edward draw in a sharp breath. I looked a little closer and sure enough, there were small bruises on my sides.

"That piece of shit. He'd better stay as far away from you as possible. Are you alright? Does it hurt badly?" I almost laughed at how worried he looked. Worried and pissed. His brow was furrowed, his eyes were livid, yet concerned and his hands twitched at his sides as if he wanted to maybe touch me again.

"Edward, calm down. I'm fine. I bruise from just about anything. It doesn't even hurt. And thank you so much for getting rid of him. He just couldn't take the hint, I guess."

"Well if he doesn't take the hint he just got, he's going to regret it."

I was still mulling over the whole 'my girl' comment he made earlier, but decided to let it go. I figured he was just saying it to make Felix go away.

_He couldn't possibly think of me like that. He was just trying to help me._

We made it to the elevator with Edward checking that I was alright every three seconds. I just rolled my eyes at him and pushed the down button.

The door popped open, and there were Alice and Jasper. They were each holding a box, but had still managed to lock eyes with each other. I glanced up at Edward, who was leaning against the elevator door and smirking at the obviously smitten pair.

He met my eyes and held up one finger to tell me to wait. "Okay, you two lovebirds can make eyes at each other later," he said, throwing Alice's words back at her.

Their heads snapped toward us, breaking their connection. "What happened to you two? We were gone for like, ten minutes and didn't see you once. Don't think for a second that you're getting out of carrying your stuff, Bellsie," Alice said to me. I briefly wondered if she had heard what Edward said to them since she didn't comment on it. She and Jasper strode out of the elevator, passing us as they walked toward the room. "And just for your information," she began while still walking away, "I can make eyes at my man if I want to!" Jasper just looked back at us and grinned like a lovesick fool.

Edward just shook his head as he followed me into the elevator. "I guess I can't say I'm too surprised. The way they looked at each other when she walked in the room earlier was…. intense." He pushed the button for the lobby and the doors shut, taking us down slowly.

"I know," I said to him. "Right before we met him at housing check-in she told me that her man was nearby. I just didn't think she meant _that_ nearby. I have a feeling that they're going to be inseparable."

"Yeah, and Emmett's already obsessed with Rosalie. Though, I'm not sure if she can stand him…," he mused out loud.

The elevator stopped and we exited, making our way to the parking lot. We grabbed a couple of boxes out of my car and made our way back to the room, chatting all the way. After three more trips, everything was brought in.

As I put the last box on the floor, I took a look at my new friends. Alice and Jasper were sitting on her bed talking quietly, but intensely. Rosalie and Emmett were sitting in the middle of the room arguing about what year some car was that they had seen in a movie.

Edward came in a second after me, put his box down and said, "Thanks for your help, guys!" He was promptly ignored by everyone. I just giggled at him. He looked at me and flashed a crooked grin. "You think that's funny, huh? Let's see if I help you move out!"

"Awww, Edward. You know I didn't mean it. I really do appreciate you helping me." I gave him my best doe eyes, hoping he would forgive me.

"I know you do, I was just teasing you." He came and sat down beside me on my bed, leaning against the headboard and kicking up his now shoeless feet.

"Comfy?" I asked him.

"Very, thanks. You should get comfortable, too. We could be here a while. Doesn't look like either of my roommates are going to be leaving anytime soon."

"Well who said you could stay?" I asked, cheekily.

He pretended to look hurt. "Why, Bella. You don't want me here? After I just dragged all of those heavy boxes upstairs for you, too."

"You do realize that we took the elevator, right?"

"Shut it, Swan. Just for that, I'm not leaving. In fact, I think I'll just move in here."

_Please do…_

Shut up, Bella. He's just messing with you.

"Whatever, move over a little. If you're going to sit on my bed you'd better at least leave some room for me." He moved a few inches to the left, but I was still going to have a hard time sitting there without being too smushed up against him.

_I wonder if he's doing this on purpose. Maybe he wants me to be close to him._

Stop it. He's not interested.

_How do you know? Did you ask him?_

Fuck off, I'm not asking him that!

_Chicken._

Damn straight.

I decided to just sit down and get it over with. Hell, it was _my _bed, and if he didn't want me that close to him, he could either move over more or get off.

_Oh he's more than welcome to get off…. with me! Shit! Chill out, Bella. No need to go all perverted stalker on his ass. Though, it _is_ a nice ass…_

Oh fuck, I'm in trouble.

"Bella?" Edward asked. "Are you going to sit down? Or did you just want to stare at me all day? Not that I mind." He flashed that grin at me again and I was lost. I tried to play it off by rolling my eyes at him as I sat down, but inside I was a shaking mess. I tried to act normally, even though I was pressed up against his side.

"So Edward," I started, trying to be nonchalant, "where are you from?"

"Pretty close, really. My parents live out in Kenilworth."

My jaw hit the floor. "Kenilworth? Seriously?"

"Um, yeah," he said sheepishly. His eyes dropped to his lap as he picked at a piece of nonexistent string on his shorts. "Is that a problem?"

_What the hell is he so nervous about?_

He looked incredibly uncomfortable. "No," I said. "Why on earth would that be a problem?"

"Well, most people think I'm some kind of stuck up, pretty boy, rich kid when they hear that. I just don't want you to think of me that way."

"Edward, seriously. I know you haven't known me very long, but do I seem like the kind of girl that gives a flying fuck how much money someone has?"

He finally gave up on the nonexistent string and looked up at me, studying my face carefully. "No," he said, sighing. "I know you're not like that. I'm sorry. Forgive me?" He looked deeply into my eyes, silently asking me to not be angry with him.

It was my turn to look away. His gaze was too penetrating, too intense. I played with my own nonexistent string while I bumped my shoulder lightly into his. "There's nothing to forgive, Edward. It's alright."

"Thanks," he said, bumping my shoulder back. There were a few seconds of silence between us, though everyone else was still talking.

All of a sudden, Alice jumped up off her bed, pulling Jasper up with her. They rushed toward the door as she yelled, "Be back later!" I opened my mouth to reply, but they were long gone, the door slamming shut behind them.

"I don't think I even want to know where they're going," I groaned.

Rosalie snorted. "Jazz is a perfect gentleman. I don't think Alice is in any danger with him."

"Alice isn't the one I was worried about." Everyone looked at me for a split second before we all burst out in laughter.

"Rosie, baby, I'm hungry," Emmett pouted.

"Baby?" she asked. "Who on earth said you could call me 'baby'?" She rolled her eyes at him and stood up. "Come on, you whiner. Let's go get something to eat. You guys coming?"

I looked at Edward and said, "I'm not really hungry, but you're welcome to go if you want. I think I'm going to walk around a little bit and get myself acquainted with the campus."

_Please come with me…I don't want to be away from you right now. Christ, I've got it bad. This is pathetic._

"Like hell I'm letting you walk around by yourself. Not with that asshat Felix wandering around," he replied. I looked at him and his eyes were hard, he was angry. I knew it wasn't directed at me, but it was still kind of scary.

"Felix? Who the fuck is Felix?" Rosalie asked.

I looked at Emmett. "Didn't you tell them when you came back in?"

"No, I didn't know if you would want me to say anything, so I kept my mouth shut," he explained.

"There's a first," Edward murmured. Rosalie and I laughed.

"Whatever," Emmett huffed. "I was just trying to respect your privacy, little B." I stood up and walked over to hug him.

"Thank you, Emmett. I appreciate it." I turned and looked at Rosalie. "Felix is the one I was complaining about earlier. You know, when I first walked in? He kind of, um, sidetracked me when we went to get my stuff."

"_Sidetracked?_" Edward cried, incredulously. "Bella, he practically attacked you! He grabbed you too hard, backed you into the wall, _trapped_ you there…I mean, he _bruised_ you!"

_He's really upset by this. But he'd probably be upset if it was Alice or Rosalie, too. Don't read too much into it._

"Edw-,"I started before I was cut off by Rosalie.

"He bruised you? Where?" She asked, angrily. She grabbed my arms and started checking them over.

"Rose, it's fine. I have a tiny bruise on my hips, but it's not anything to get all worked up over. See?" I pulled my shirt up on the side to show her the little discoloration. "No big deal."

"That asshole. He'd better keep away from you. I don't take well to men that think it's okay to hurt women." Rose looked away from my bruise and up to Edward. "You go with her. Take her on her tour and make sure she's safe."

I rolled my eyes at everyone. Emmett looked at me and said, "We're just trying to keep you safe, Little B. I mean, we wouldn't want Eddie here to have a heart attack because something happened to you, now would we?"

I giggled as Edward glared at Emmett. "Come on, Bella. I'll show you around." He took my hand and led me out of the room, away from Rose and Emmett. We decided to take the stairs down, leaving the elevator open for late coming movers.

Once outside, we made our way down a small pathway toward the main campus.

"Where are you and Alice from?" Edward asked.

"Washington. State, not D.C. We've been best friends and neighbors for as long as I can remember."

Edward glanced at me quickly before he asked, "How did you guys decide on Northwestern then? I mean, that's a long way from home."

"Well, Alice wanted to go to a big city so she could major in fashion, but she didn't want to do the obvious and go to New York, L.A., or even Miami. She wanted to prove to people that she could make it somewhere that was big, yes, but maybe not the first thing you'd think of in fashion. I just wanted to come here because of the music program. "

"Why not somewhere like Julliard?"

I snorted. "Yeah, like _I'd _ever get into Julliard. It's alright, though. Like I said, Northwestern has a great program. It's tough to be away from Charlie, but we both knew I had to do what was right for me."

Edward stopped suddenly. "Who's Charlie? Is that a boyfriend back home?"

"Oh GOD no! Ew! Charlie's my _dad_, Edward. No, no boyfriend at home."

"Oh, okay." He started walking again, and I could swear there was a happy smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.

_Is he glad I don't have a boyfriend? Why? It's not like he'd ever be interested in me. Huh…._

"Wait," I started, "You said your parents live in Kenilworth, right?" He nodded his affirmation. "So why in the world are you paying this exorbitant amount of money to live in the dorms when you could stay in what is probably an amazing house for _free_?"

He chuckled at me quietly. "My parents and I thought it best if I had the full college experience. Dorms and all."

"So they kicked you out, huh?" I asked, jokingly.

He laughed. "Yeah, pretty much. It's alright. I can still take my laundry home when I go for the requisite Sunday dinners."

"Lucky bastard," I grumbled. Coin operated laundry was _not_ something I was looking forward to. Especially since I would have to sit there the whole time it was washing and drying so no one would steal my clothes. I mean, really people! Stealing laundry? Get a new hobby!

We walked around for another hour before stopping in the cafeteria and grabbing a couple of sandwiches.

I learned so much more about him. He told me that his dad, Carlisle, was the head of the ER at Northwestern Memorial hospital. I figured I'd probably get to know him well, since I'm pathetically unfortunate in the balance category. His mom, Esme, was an interior designer. From what I could gather, she was pretty highly sought after. He told me all about how he played baseball in high school, because he wanted to play for the Cubs after he graduated. A shattered knee ended that dream for him, so he focused even more on his music and found that his passion for composing only grew.

After giving him a brief overview of my quiet life in Forks, we found ourselves back at the room. We sat down on the couch in our common room.

"So your dad is the Police Chief back home?" he asked. I nodded. He chuckled at me quietly.

"What?" I asked, a little smile playing on my lips.

"He must have scared all of the boys that wanted to date you. I feel a little bad for them."

I snorted and looked at him disbelievingly. "What boys? I think I've had one date in my whole life, and that was a disaster."

Now it was his turn to look at me like I was crazy. "One date? You're kidding, right? How is that even possible?"

"Seriously, Edward? I don't exactly look like Rosalie. It's alright, though. It gave me more time to study and focus on my music."

"Those boys must have been blind. Well, their loss is going to be someone else's obvious gain," he said sweetly.

_Can it be your gain? _

I blushed. "Thanks. I'm not entirely convinced you're _right,_ but it's sweet of you to say. Seriously though, it's alright. I spent enough time around those boys to know that they were definitely _not_ what I was looking for. I guess you could say that until something better comes along then my music is my lover."

I hadn't meant to put it quite so bluntly, but Edward just nodded in agreement. "I know what you mean. When I'm playing, it's like nothing else exists," he said. "I can pour every ounce of what I'm feeling into it."

"It's the same for me. When I sing, I can let go. Nothing matters; just the flow of the notes, the steady beat…it can do things to a person. Music can make you laugh or cry, it can make you fall in love or break your heart. Hell, sometimes it can turn you on or kill the mood, too." I hadn't realized what I said until after it left my mouth. I looked over at Edward quickly, and as soon as our eyes met we both burst out in laughter.

"What's so funny?" Alice said as she and Jasper walked in the door hand in hand.

"Nothing," I giggled. "Did you guys have a good time doing…. whatever it is you were doing. Wait, I'm not sure I want to know. Don't answer that please."

Alice stuck her tongue out at me. Jasper sat in the recliner and she perched herself on his lap. "We didn't do anything, you prude. We just spent some time talking." Edward and Jasper laughed.

I rolled my eyes at her before I looked at the clock. "Oh shit!" I cried. "It's eleven and I still need to unpack."

"Bella," Alice said. "You do realize that you're in college now. You don't have a bedtime anymore. Besides, we don't have class tomorrow. You can sleep in however long you want. Just unpack when you wake up."

I groaned as I stood up. "I can't Alice, I have to meet with my voice teacher tomorrow. Something about going over my repertoire. I'll see you all tomorrow." I started to walk to my room, but turned around to look at Edward. "Thanks for walking with me Edward. I had a good time."

He shot me that panty-melting grin and said, "It was my pleasure. Sleep well, Bella." I blushed and mumbled a goodnight in return.

I got into my room, shut the door and sighed.

_How am I going to live with him all year and not throw myself at him? Fuck, what am I going to do?_

Deciding to put it out of my mind for the moment, I started unpacking. Two hours later, I was nowhere near done, but I had my bed set up so I decided to sleep and finish the rest after my meeting in the morning. I ran down to the bathroom, brushed my teeth and washed my face. After I got changed and set my alarm, I settled into bed for what I hoped would be restful sleep. Boy was I wrong.

I woke up at about four-thirty, noticing that at some point both Rosalie and Alice had come in and gone to bed also. I rolled over to face the wall by my bed and noticed a big black spot on it. There wasn't enough moonlight coming in through the window to see what it was. I tried ignoring it, but I knew it hadn't been there when I went to bed.

_Fuck it. I'll never get back to sleep if I don't figure out what it is._

I rolled out of bed and grabbed the small flashlight I had on my desk. Charlie thought it would be a good idea to bring with, and I was silently thanking him. I didn't want to turn on the light because it would wake up the girls, but I _had _to know what that spot was.

I flicked on the flashlight, being careful not to point it at anyone, and raised it to where I knew the spot was by my bed. When the light landed on it, it took my sleep-deprived mind a minute to figure out exactly what I was looking at. When it registered, I did the only thing I could think of to do.

I screamed.

**So...what do we think is going to happen? Let me know what you think. Reviews are _almost _as good as Edward calling you his girl!**


	4. Ch 3 Are You Kidding Me?

**A/N Here we are again! I don't think I have much to say... **

**My endless thanks go to my amazing friend, Pattsylove. You know I love you for all the encouragement and praise I get from you. You seriously rock!**

**Okay, fic recs:**

**Love In My Box by cosmoandmarvar. If you're not in love with Forthwithward, there is something seriously wrong. So incredibly AWESOME! **

**Breakaway by A Cullen Wannabe. Now, I'm not a racing fan, but if it was Edward driving you better _believe_ that I'm there! Seriously though, the development of the relationship between Edward and Bella is crazy and frustrating and funny and cute...just read it. Trust me!**

**Disclaimer: I don't get to own anything Twilight...but I do own the scars on my eardrum...read on, you'll understand!**

**EPOV**

As I watched Bella walk away from me, I thought back on the time we'd just spent together. I must've been out of it for a little longer than I had thought because all of a sudden I was hit in the arm with something. I looked down and grabbed the offending object just to find that it was a tiny shoe.

"What the fuck? Alice, did you _seriously _throw your fucking shoe at me?"

"Well, we've been trying to get your attention for five minutes now," she huffed. "You're just lucky that I was wearing my flats instead of my stilettos. What are you thinking about anyway?" she asked with a knowing gleam in her eyes.

"Uh…n-nothing. Just remembering that I have to unpack."

_She'll never buy that. Fuck, I can't lie for shit._

"Uh huh, yeah," she replied. "Listen, I can tell you like Bella. And I know she likes you. But she's the closest thing I have to a sister, so I'm just going to tell you once. Do NOT fuck her over. You seem like a nice guy, but Bella doesn't exactly have much experience with guys. If you break her heart, I will break your dick off, thereby ruining any chance you have at having a successful sex life. Got it?"

I gaped at her, my mouth hanging wide open. When she cocked her eyebrow at me, I snapped back into reality and nodded dumbly. "Alice, you're awfully scary for someone so small," I said to her.

She smiled at me and said, "Thanks! People tend to think that I can't take care of myself because I'm so little, but they couldn't be more wrong. But seriously, as long as you're good to her, we're going to be just fine. I like you, so I really don't _want _to kill you."

Jasper was trying not to laugh through this whole exchange, but after Alice said that he lost it. I sat in silence for a second, and then started laughing myself. I knew I would never hurt Bella, so I guess I didn't really have to worry about it.

_Dude, you don't even have her. Concentrate on how you're going to get her before you worry about not hurting her._

We sat and talked a little more before Emmett and Rosalie came strolling in. They had that "freshly fucked" look going on. Rose was trying to smooth her hair down, and Emmett's shirt was on inside out.

_At least his pants are on…and zipped. Thank God for small favors._

Alice, Jasper and I looked at them, then at each other before we collapsed in a fit of laughter. Rose looked confused for a second, but as soon as she _really_ looked at Emmett, she slapped him upside the head. "Emmett! Why is your shirt on wrong? Didn't you check that shit before you got dressed?"

"Awe, Rosie. I'm sorry. Besides, small price to pay to let everyone know you belong to me." When she looked at him with pure fury in her eyes, he started to backtrack. "I mean, if you _want_ to. But, not that you would ever _belong_ to anyone, I mean, you're not…or….fuck! I'm sorry!" Emmett looked like his head was going to explode.

Rose's expression softened a touch, but you could see the mischief in her eyes. She faced him head on and patted his cheek as she said, "You're lucky you're a good fuck, or I'd have busted your pretty face by now." Emmett's jaw dropped for a moment before a wide grin spread across your face. He grabbed her around the waist, kissed her soundly, then smacked her on the butt and went to sit down. Rose looked stunned for a moment, but you could see in her eyes that she loved it.

Jasper, on the other hand, was less than impressed. He moved Alice off of his lap and said, "Okay, I'm out. I did NOT need to see that. Or hear that from my _sister_. Ugh. I'm gonna finish unpacking and go to bed." He leaned down and kissed Alice before murmuring something in her ear, making her smile brightly. He muttered a 'goodnight' to the rest of us and retreated to our room.

"So," Rosalie started, looking at Alice. I could see where this was going. "You and my brother, huh?"

Before Alice could answer I shot back at Rosalie, "So, you and my cousin, huh?"

"Well played, Cullen. Touchè," she said to me with a smile. Looking back at Alice she said, "Alright, I approve. You might be good for him. He's entirely too serious all the time. Now that I think about it, he might be good for you too. You look like you're almost never serious."

Alice just smiled before getting up and announcing that it was time for her 'beauty sleep'. Rose got up and started to follow her before turning back to Emmett and replicating his earlier kiss, though her ending was punctuated by a smack upside the head instead of on the ass.

"Ow! Fuck!" he yelled. Rose just looked over her shoulder and blew him a kiss as she walked into the girls' room, closing the door behind her. Emmett's eyes were slightly glazed over and he looked at me saying, "Mark my words, Eddie, I'm gonna marry that woman."

"That's a great goal and all Em, but if you call me Eddie again you're not going to live to see it come to fruition," I seethed.

_I know he does this shit to piss me off!_

Emmett chuckled before standing up and stretching his arms over his head. "I think I'm gonna follow everyone else's lead and finish unpacking. You comin'?"

I stood up and chanced one last look at Bella's door, wishing I could walk through it, grab her and kiss her. Emmett must've caught me looking because the next think I knew I was being spun around and pushed toward my own door while he said, "Dude, she lives with us. She'll still be here tomorrow. Maybe by then you'll have found your balls and you can go after her. Come on, get unpacked and get some sleep."

I sighed, knowing he was right. I needed to man up and just ask her out. Maybe I'd be lucky enough to have her like me even half as much as I liked her. I opened the door and walked in just as Jasper was opening his last box.

"Get bored after the girls left?" he asked.

Emmett laughed loudly. "Something like that. Face it; you guys just aren't as fun as my Rosie."

"Dude, I do NOT need to hear about how fun my sister is. Seriously, cut that shit out."

"Well, fuck," said Emmett. "Who the hell am I supposed to talk to about her?"

I looked at him as I dropped a box onto my bed. "Hello! Dumbass! Did I disappear or something?"

"Please. I can't talk to your emo ass about her. You do nothing but think about Bella all the time. You can't give me the attention I need," he replied.

Jasper laughed. "You sound like a chick, Emmett. Do you realize what you just said?"

"Whatever," Emmett huffed. "I'm gonna talk about her anyway, so you two just better get used to the idea."

Thankfully Emmett and I had most of our stuff unpacked already, so after sorting out a couple of quick boxes we were set and ready to go to sleep. It was just after one a.m., so I figured if I got up at about seven I could get a decent amount of sleep and still have time to practice in the morning.

I wasn't asleep for more than a few hours when I heard an ear piercing scream. Flying upright I shouted, "What the fuck? Guys, did you hear that?" Before anyone could answer me I heard it again, but this time it was joined with two other voices. Jasper, Emmett and I threw ourselves out of bed and almost ripped the door off its hinges trying to get out.

_Bella! Shit, what's going on?_

We raced across the common room and burst through the girls' door just to find Bella and Alice standing against one of the walls, staring at something intently. Rosalie was watching something, too, but she was holding an open box upside down in her hands.

I ran over to Bella and grabbed her by the shoulders, looking her over for any physical harm. "Are you alright? What the hell happened?"

Before she could answer me, Rose piped in. "Bella here woke up with _that_ staring her in the face." She pointed at something on what I had assumed was Bella's bed. I glanced over at Jasper, who was sitting on what must've been Alice's bed, with her curled up in his lap. Emmett was still standing in the doorway, watching Rose while she was bent at the waist.

I walked up to the bed that had become the focus of the room and tried to figure out what they were talking about. "I don't see anything…"

"Step back a little and I'll show you," Rose said. I took a few steps backward. She grabbed something off the nearby desk and tossed it onto the bed. Something shot across the bedspread, stopping on a lighter colored area.

_What the FUCK is THAT? Is that…no, it can't be…can it?_

I looked just a little bit closer at the _thing_ and sure enough, it was a big ass fucking spider. Now, when I say spider, I don't mean a little black spider you see on the sidewalk, or even a Daddy Long Legs you'd find on the side of your house. No, I'm talking a furry_ beast _that was fast as hell. And it was BIG.

Emmett started laughing from the doorway. "You little ladies are all worked up over a little spider?"

"Fuck off, Emmett," I heard Bella say. I stood up straight and laughed at her choice of words. "I'm not scared of the damn thing. I was half asleep when I figured out what it was. Forgive me for being startled."

"Well then why are you over there instead of trying to kill it?" he asked her.

"Because I told her to get out of the way while I got it, you ass," Rosalie snarked at him. Emmett pouted a little while the rest of us laughed.

"It's alright, Emmett. I'm slightly embarrassed that I screamed and woke you guys up. Sorry everyone," Bella said sheepishly.

"Alright," Emmett started. "Stand back and let the master kill the big bad bug." Rosalie just laughed and stepped back, tugging on my arm to indicate that I should move back too.

'_Watch this,'_ she mouthed to me. I trained my eyes back to Emmett and waited for what Rosalie was talking about.

Emmett grabbed a magazine off the nearest desk, rolled it up and raised it above his head as he prepared to kill the "monster" on the bed. Had I not been watching so intently, I might've missed it. Just as Emmett went to strike the spider, it jumped, _yes jumped_, about six inches in the air and landed completely unscathed. It then proceeded to race back to its first spot.

Emmett leapt about two feet in the air. "Fuck!" he yelled as it jumped away from him. "You didn't tell me the fucker jumps! Christ!"

Rosalie started laughing hysterically. "Why do you think I had them on the other side of the room, you idiot. That's a jumping spider. They jump when they feel threatened. And having more than one person crowding around it would just send it into a jumping frenzy and we'd never kill the damn thing. I was trying to trap it when you decided to play hero and save us poor womenfolk from the scary monster." We all burst out in laughter at that one.

From that moment on, it was a clusterfuck of people as we tried to kill the thing. When one of us would get close enough to trap it, it would just bolt away. It was a comedy of errors. The damn thing ran all around the room; under beds, behind desks, even once over Alice's foot, after which she absolutely refused to help us. After forty five minutes of chasing the thing down, Emmett got an idea. He grabbed Rosalie's tennis racquet, stepped up close to it and stomped his foot. Right as it hopped up, he swung and lobbed the spider across the room. It went sailing through the air and hit the wall with a small 'thump'. We waited with bated breath, thinking it was just going to get up and zoom off in the opposite direction. Nothing. After a few seconds more, Bella walked up to it slowly, cringing as she quickly kicked it into a small vessel and snapped a makeshift lid over it in case it woke up.

"Someone take it, please!" she cried. Jasper chuckled and grabbed the container off of the floor, promising to get rid of it. As he walked out the door, Bella started toward her bed. Before she got halfway there, she stopped and turned around. "Wait. I'm not sleeping there until they get someone in here to spray for those things. I don't feel like sleeping with another one."

"Well where on earth do you think you're going to sleep?" Alice asked her.

"Um, I'll just…" she started as she looked around a bit. Her eyes landed on something outside the open door. "Ah! I'll sleep on the couch in the common room. I'm sure it'll be fine for a night or two." She grabbed her pillow and a blanket from a box on the floor, shaking them both out to make sure there were no 'friends' hiding inside and started toward the door.

"Wait!" Alice screeched. "I'm not sleeping in here either. I'm coming with you. Oh, I know! We'll have a sleepover in the common room! It'll be so much fun! Get your stuff, Rose. Come on!"

Rosalie rolled her eyes and grabbed a couple of blankets and a pillow. "Fine," she grumbled. "But if you keep me up any longer with mindless chatter about _anything_ I'm walking out."

Alice just giggled as she grabbed her stuff off the bed and charged out the door. Bella yelled after her, "I still get the couch, Allie! Don't even _think _about it!" The guys and I looked at each other, shrugged and walked out to head back to our room.

While Emmett and Jasper went over to their girls for one last goodnight kiss, I wandered over to Bella to make sure that her nerves were calming down. I sat on the edge of the couch and said, "You alright now, Bella?"

She smiled at me sleepily. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm not really afraid of spiders, but it kinda grosses me out to think that that thing could've been crawling on me. Ugh!"

I chuckled at her and brushed a random lock of hair off of her forehead without thinking about it. She smiled softly at me and her cheeks pinked up to the most beautiful hue.

_Man, you've got it BAD for this girl._

I know, don't remind me. She probably doesn't feel the same way.

_Did you bother to ask her?_

No.

_Then shut up about things you know nothing about._

Fuck off.

_You're just mad because you know I'm right._

Whatever.

"I'm really sorry I woke you guys up. God, I'm so embarrassed," she said as she buried her head in her pillow.

Before I could stop myself, I leaned down close to her ear and said, "Bella, never be sorry for waking me up. For any reason at all." She turned her face to look at me and I discovered that her beautiful blush had deepened. I had the sudden strong urge to close the short distance and kiss her.

_Do it. You'll never know otherwise._

Our eyes locked; my piercing green with her deep, endless brown.

"Bella," I whispered.

**BPOV**

I heard him whisper my name and I thought for a moment that he was going to kiss me.

"Eddie! Plant one or move your ass! I'm tired." Emmett's irritatingly loud voice broke the trance we were in.

_Emmett, I'm going to kill you. Mark my words…_

Edward sighed and shook his head a little bit before he looked back at me. "You sure you're alright now?" he asked softly.

"Yeah," I answered. "Thanks for your help."

He smiled lightly and gave my hand a quick squeeze. "Anytime. Get some sleep. Goodnight, Bella." He got up and followed the guys back into their room.

"Goodnight," I whispered.

"Well, _that_ was awkward," Alice said.

I looked at her, my brow furrowed in confusion. "What was awkward?"

"Are you kidding me?" asked Rose. "The sexual tension between you two is ridiculous! I'm almost certain that if Emmett hadn't opened his big mouth, as usual, Edward would've kissed you. And you can't tell me you didn't want him to. I might've known you for less than twenty four hours but even I could see it written all over your face. In fact, remind me to hit Emmett for ruining that moment."

I looked at Alice, "Was it really that obvious? I mean, I know _I_ wanted to kiss _him_, but I seriously doubt that _he _wanted to kiss _me_. It's late, and he was probably delirious since I had to be a freak and wake everyone up with my screaming. That's all, I'm sure. There's no way-"

"Shut _up_, Bella!" Alice said exasperatedly. "Can't you just enjoy the time we just had?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Think about it Bellsie," she said. "Yeah, you screamed and woke everyone up, but seconds later we had three half naked men bust in to check on us. And what did half naked Edward do first? He ran to _you_ to see if you were alright. Doesn't that tell you _anything_?"

"Well, um, I guess-"

"No," Rose cut in. "No 'guessing' about it. That boy wants you. I bet he's probably thinking that you don't want him. Though, if he thinks that then he's not as bright as I first thought. You two couldn't be more obvious to everyone but each other."

"Maybe you should just go kiss _him_. Why wait for him to do it?" Alice asked.

"Guys! I can't do that. I have to live with him all year. What happens if I do that and you guys were wrong? What if he really _doesn't_ think of me like that? I can't risk the year being awkward just because I couldn't control myself. Now, I'm going to sleep. I have a meeting with Doctor Vaughn in like," I checked the clock, "five hours. I can't sing well if I'm too tired, and I don't want to make a bad impression."

"Alright, alright. Don't get your panties in a twist or I'll have to call Edward to help you untwist them," Rose quipped.

I huffed and rolled over, burying my head into my pillow. Rose and Alice snickered behind me before I lifted my head up and stuck my tongue out at them.

In my few short hours of sleep, I managed to dream about shirtless Edward. I dreamed about what it would be like had he kissed me on the couch. I could almost _feel_ his arms around me when he caught me. I could still hear him say "my girl" when he saved me from Felix.

All too soon, I was awoken by someone shaking the life out of me.

"Get up, get up, get up!"

_There's only one person in this world who's that cheery after only a few hours of sleep._

"Alice, if you don't stop shaking me I swear I'll break the heel off your favorite pair of Manolo's."

She gasped. "You _wouldn't_!"

I sat up and looked her in the eyes. "I _would_. Thank you for waking me in time, but try to be a little less…enthusiastic about it next time."

She just rolled her eyes at me, giggling as she walked away. I noticed that Rose was already gone, her things likely back on her bed. Alice was in our kitchenette, eating a bagel and talking to Jasper. I didn't see Emmett or Edward, though.

"Hey Bella?" Jasper called.

"Yeah," I replied as I folded my blanket.

"Edward left a note for you before he went to practice. He told me to make sure you got it."

I looked up at him. He was holding a small piece of paper between two outstretched fingers, a shit eating grin plastered on his face.

_A note? Why on earth is he leaving me a note?_

I walked up to Jasper and quickly snatched the note from his fingers.

"Anxious much?" he laughed.

I punched him in the shoulder. "Shut up, Jasper." I perched myself on an available stool and opened the note. His script was clear and concise; not at all what you would imagine a man's writing to look like.

_Bella~_

_I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to stop and talk to the Residence Director about getting the suite sprayed for bugs in the next day or two. If you like, I'm sure that Emmett, Jasper and myself can check through all of the rooms for any more stragglers._

_I hope you got some sleep last night, or rather, this morning. I'll be in the rehearsal hall all morning and part of the afternoon. I know you have your meeting this morning; maybe we'll run into each other. _

_Be careful walking by yourself around campus. I don't want Felix getting to you again. As a matter of fact, why don't you ask Jasper to walk you to the PAC? I'm sure he won't mind. And if you're there long enough, I can walk you back home. _

_Good luck with your meeting,_

_Edward_

I didn't realize Alice was reading over my shoulder until I heard her say, "Who the hell is Felix? What aren't you telling me Isabella?"

I clutched the note to my chest, blocking it from her view. "No one," I mumbled.

"Bullshit," she shot back. "Don't make me call Rosalie. I know she can get you to spill. She's good like that." Jasper nodded in agreement.

"Ugh, _fine_." I proceeded to tell her and Jasper about my little run in with Felix the day before. Alice's face started to turn red with anger.

"That..that…_asshole_ put his hands on you? Where is he? I'm gonna rip his head off!" She started stalking toward the door.

Jasper jumped off of his stool and grabber her. "Hold it, darlin'. You don't really think I'm going to let you go anywhere near that animal, do you?"

She spun around to face him. "Jasper Whitlock Hale! Don't you dare think that I can't take care of myself! This girl is the closest think I have to a sister and I _refuse_ to let some bastard try to hurt her and get away with it!"

"Baby girl, I have no doubt in my mind that you can take care of yourself, and anyone else. I just don't want to have to visit you in jail after they arrest you for murder," he told her as he led her back to the counter.

"No jury in the world would convict me," she said haughtily. I laughed at her over confidence.

Looking at the clock, I saw that I really needed to be on my way soon. "Guys, it's been fun, but I've got to get dressed and get out of here. I can't let Dr. Vaughn think that I'm not reliable." I rushed to my room and grabbed some clothes and my shower kit. I ran to the shower we shared with the suite next to us, took the fastest one known to man and hurried to get dressed. Once I was ready, I tossed everything on my bed, slipped on my shoes and made my way to the common room to say goodbye.

I walked through the door and saw Jasper dressed in jeans, a t-shirt and tennis shoes. He glanced over and said, "It's about time. Come on, let's go."

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"I'm taking you to the PAC. You're gonna be late, come on."

I sighed, knowing that he must've read the note while I was gone. I knew I'd be fine, but I didn't have time to fight with him. "Alright, if you must."

We said goodbye to Alice and made our way outside. We made some small talk as we were walking across campus. I learned that he was a radio broadcasting major, hence the reason he introduced himself as "Whitlock" instead of "Hale". He said that he would use his middle name while he was on air, and was trying to get used to saying it all of the time. He asked about Alice a lot; wanting to know about past boyfriends and the like. I just laughed at him and said that he'd have to ask her, but that I didn't think he had anything to worry about.

When we reached the PAC, Jasper gave me a quick one armed hug and made his way down the hall to our left. I could only assume that was where the studio was. I still had a few minutes before my meeting, so I made my way down the stairs to where the music and theatre departments were housed. I passed the Main Stage, the Black Box, and a few practice rooms, finally finding the hall with the offices. Dr. Vaughn's office was the largest and closest office since he was the department chair.

When I reached his door, I saw it was closed so I took a seat on the chair outside. I could hear someone talking inside; I assumed he was on the phone. Suddenly, I heard a second voice; a shrill, female voice.

"You have GOT to be joking! I'm the best student you've got!" she yelled. "You _need_ me. These morons won't get anywhere without me to lead them!"

I briefly wondered if I should leave for a couple of minutes when I heard Dr. Vaughn speak. "Lauren, I've made my decision. Now if you don't mind, I have a meeting that you are making me late for. I expect you to have cleaned up your attitude by the time class starts on Monday. You're excused." The door opened sharply and a young woman, no more than twenty, stormed out. She glared at me as she walked by.

Dr. Vaughn sighed. "Bella," he said. "Please come in." I stood and walked into his office, taking a seat in the chair he indicated. "I want to apologize for Lauren. She seems to think that she's indispensable to this department. In any case, let's talk about your future here at Northwestern."

For the next two hours, we spoke about what was going to be expected of me in the following four years. I sampled pieces from my repertoire for him, taking in all of the suggestions he gave and mentally reminding myself to apply them the next time I sang. He showed me around since I had pretty much walked right past everything, not wanting to be late.

The practice rooms were amazing. They were completely soundproof, and each was equipped with a panel that allowed you to program in any type of acoustic setting. He punched a few buttons and told me to sing a scale. As my voice hit the walls, it was echoed back at me as though I was standing in a concert hall. New buttons were pushed, and the next scale I sang sounded like I was in an arena. Dr. Vaughn chuckled at my amazed expression and led me to the main rehearsal room.

"Would you mind singing a particular piece from your repertoire for me?" he asked as he sat at the beautiful grand piano.

"Um, sure. What would you like me to do?"

"Why don't we do Se Tu M'ami? Come, I'll play for you. What key do you sing it in, dear?"

"B flat, if you don't mind, Doctor." He simply smiled and began to play. I closed my eyes and let my voice carry through the room, allowing myself to get lost in the melody. As the last note faded into silence, I opened my eyes again and saw Dr. Vaughn smiling at me.

"That was wonderful, Bella," he said. Then a little louder he called out, "Wouldn't you agree, Edward?"

_What? Edward? _

I turned quickly, just to see Edward standing just inside the doorway; the crooked smile I loved firmly in place.

"Absolutely, Marcus. It was beautiful." He came forward and shook Dr. Vaughn's hand. I could tell I was blushing furiously. My face felt as though it was a thousand degrees.

_Marcus? Do they know each other?_

"Edward, I'd like you to meet Bella, my newest private student."

I nearly squealed when I heard this. I knew that Dr. Vaughn only took, at most, two new private students each year. And even then, you had to work your ass off to _stay_ a private student. Some people never made it through the first year. My meeting must have been a live audition.

"Really?" I asked him, barely able to contain my excitement. "Are you serious?"

Edward and Dr. Vaughn just laughed. "Of course, little one. I can think of no one better. However, you will have to work very hard. I was not planning on taking on any more private students this year, but as you most likely heard earlier, I have had a recent vacancy. You will be perfect to fill that spot."

"Oh my God! Thank you so much, this is incredible!"

"You deserve it, dear. Edward here will be helping with our lessons, make sure you get to know him well." Edward and I looked at each other and started to laugh. Dr. Vaughn looked mildly amused as he asked, "Would you like to fill me in on the joke?"

"Sorry Marcus," Edward said. "It's just funny because Bella and I share a suite. We'll see each other every day."

"Guess that's going to make practicing a little easier, don't you think?" I quipped. Dr. Vaughn laughed with us.

"Alright, Bella. You're free to go. Come back Monday during your first free block of time and we'll get started. Edward, why don't you take off, too. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. I need to speak with your advisor anyway; let him know about our young Bella here. See you on Monday, young ones."

"Thank you Doctor. Have a good weekend," I said as I walked toward the door.

Edward followed closely behind me. "Bye, Marcus. Give Mom a call sometime; I'm sure she'd love to hear from you."

"Will do, son. Goodbye!"

Edward and I walked out of the rehearsal room. As soon as we were a respectable distance from the door, I turned to face him and practically flung myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck. He caught me easily, hugging me back and laughing.

"Do you believe it?" I asked excitedly. Edward set me down on my feet as I pulled my arms back, slightly embarrassed about my blatant display of affection.

"Well, from what I just heard in that room, you certainly deserve it. I knew you had to be good to get into this program, but I didn't know you were _that_ good." I felt my face flame up again. All of a sudden, he grabbed my hand and started pulling me down a nearby hallway.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Just trust me. I want to show you something." He led me down a couple of short hallways and though a large metal double door. It was dark inside, save for a dim light in the distance. Edward paused for a moment, and before I knew it the whole space was bathed in white light.

_Backstage. He brought me to see the stage._

I could see a series of ropes and pulleys along a nearby wall. There were backdrops, and various basic set pieces littering the space. The scrim was down, and I could make out the faint outline of a grand piano in front of it.

"Oh," I said softly, as I walked toward the front of the stage. When I made it in front of the scrim, I gasped.

"Do you like it?" Edward's voice was right in my ear, his warm breath rushing over my skin.

"Like it? It's stunning. I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would stand on a stage like this."

"Sing something," he whispered.

Normally I would've objected, not wanting to embarrass myself, but I was so intoxicated by the space I was standing in that I just started belting out the first thing that came to mind.

_On my own  
Pretending he's beside me  
All alone, I walk with him till morning  
Without him  
I feel his arms around me  
And when I lose my way I close my eyes  
And he has found me_

_In the rain the pavement shines like silver_  
_All the lights are misty in the river_  
_In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight_  
_And all I see is him and me for ever and forever_

_And I know it's only in my mind_  
_That I'm talking to myself and not to him_  
_And although I know that he is blind_  
_Still I say, there's a way for us_

"Amazing," I heard Edward whisper. I turned to face him and he swiped his thumbs under my eyes; I hadn't even noticed I was crying. "What's the matter, beautiful girl?" he asked softly.

I let out the tiniest of laughs. "Oh, nothing. I'm just a little overwhelmed with everything that's happening." I smiled at him before wrapping my arms around his neck once more. "Thank you, Edward. This was incredible for me. I think I'd live here if I could."

He hugged me back tightly, holding on just a little longer than normal. When we pulled away from each other, he cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair. "Are you hungry? You wanna go grab some lunch?"

"Sure, let's go." He took my hand one more time to lead me off the stage and out of the theatre.

The rest of the weekend passed quickly. Most of it was spent listening to Alice talk about how we should decorate our room. Rose and I were up for almost anything, but we drew the line at some of her more….extreme ideas. She tried to convince us to paint one of the walls, saying that it would be the focal point of the room, but we had to shoot that idea down since we were explicitly told that painting was forbidden.

All too soon, Monday came and classes began. I managed to make it through my morning classes without too much trouble. I went to the cafeteria to grab some lunch before my private lesson began. My afternoons would be spent in my classes that were concentrated on my major. Between the private lessons, Theory, choir, piano, and various other classes, my days would be packed with music. I wouldn't have had it any other way.

As I was waiting in line to get my food, I felt a strong hand grab my shoulder. Before I could turn around, whoever it was leaned down and whispered in my ear, "Your boyfriend isn't here to speak for you now." I didn't have to look to see who it was.

_Felix. Can't you take a hint you skeezy fucker?_

From behind, he snaked one arm around my shoulders, and the other around my waist. "Felix, get your fucking hands off of me. I didn't want you before, and I sure as hell don't want you now! Now let me go before I scream."

He held me just a little tighter and said, "You're not going to scream. Just admit that you want me and everything will be fine. We can be happy together and you can stop prancing around, teasing me."

I tried to think of a way to get him off of me without getting hurt in the process. I scanned the cafeteria for someone, _anyone_ I recognized. I was starting to think I was out of luck when all of a sudden I saw exactly who I needed at the moment.

_Edward! Alright, here goes nothing._

I took a deep breath. "Felix!" I yelled. "Let me go!" Felix startled for a moment, but didn't let up. I saw a few heads snap in our direction.

"Shut up, Isabella," he snarled slowly. I looked back over to where I saw Edward, only to see that he was gone. "Listen up and listen good. We're going to leave now. You need to wipe that look off your face and realize that you're damn _lucky_ that I chose you."

I started to panic until I heard someone growl, "I thought I told you to _keep your hands off of my girl_!" Felix's arms were pulled sharply from around me, and I bolted away from him. I spun around to take in the scene before me. Emmett had Felix's arms locked behind him and Edward was standing off to the side, a furious look on his god-like face. "Emmett," he said. "Why don't you escort this _dirtbag_ to campus security. Make sure you tell them he assaulted another student. We'll be along shortly."

Emmett pulled Felix away. I could hear Em saying, "You fucked up, man. You fucked up big time."

Edward came over to me, approaching very slowly. "Bella? Are you alright?" When he reached me he cupped my face in his hands, running his fingers over my forehead and cheeks.

I took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks for helping me."

He pulled me into his arms, tucking my head under his chin. "I can't believe that asshole didn't get the message the first time." He hugged me a little tighter, placed a small kiss on the top of my head and stepped back. "Come on, we need to go report this."

"Edward, I don't know. I just want to move on."

"Bella, you can't let him get away with this. It's not the first time he's grabbed you without your permission. If we don't report him, he'll just be able to come after you again. Hell, he might even go after someone else. Please, Bella," he begged.

I looked into his eyes and saw concern embedded deep in the emerald green. "Okay. Yeah, let's report him. I couldn't live with myself if he hurt someone when I could've done something to prevent it."

"Okay," he said softly. He took my hand and laced his fingers through mine. We didn't talk on the way to the security office. He simply walked close to me, holding our joined hands up to his chest. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. I couldn't help but think about how sweet he was. No one had ever looked out for me like this before. I could feel myself falling just a little bit more for him.

_Be careful, Bella. Don't let yourself get in too deep. You don't want to get hurt._

We reached the security office, and Emmett was in telling one of the guards his side of the story. Felix was locked in a room at the end of the hall. When all was said and done, Felix was being arrested and charged with assault. He was also expelled and slapped with a restraining order.

After we finished, Emmett had a class to get to so I gave him a hug and thanked him for all of his help.

"No need, Little B. That fucker had it coming. You okay now?" I nodded, smiling at him. "Alright. See you crazy kids later." With one last squeeze, he was off.

I looked at Edward. "Thanks again. I'm not sure I could've gotten away by myself."

He shook his head at me. "Bella, I will always do whatever I can to keep you safe. You don't have to worry about him anymore. Come on, let's go home."

We were about halfway back to our suite when I realized something. "Oh my God! I missed my first lesson with Dr. Vaughn. Shit! He'll _never_ keep me now!"

"Bella…._Bella_…BELLA!" I finally heard Edward calling my name and snapped my head toward him. "I called Marcus and told him what happened, and security has left messages for all of your professors. You're excused from your afternoon classes. You just need to check your student e-mail for copies of your lectures and assignments. And don't worry about Marcus, he's not upset with you at all. In fact, don't be surprised if you get a call from him later, just checking up on you." I laughed, slightly more relaxed now that I knew I wasn't going to be in trouble.

When we got inside, we both crashed on the couch. I curled up in the corner, pulling my legs up to the side of me. "I keep meaning to ask you," I said, "How do you know Dr. Vaughn?"

Edward smiled. "Marcus is my mother's uncle; my grandmother's brother. He was the one who taught me to play the piano. We've always been very close."

"That's good," I said through a yawn. Edward chuckled.

"Tired?" I nodded sleepily. "Come here." He grabbed a pillow and laid it on his lap as I turned myself around. He pulled my shoulders down a little, laying my head on the pillow. I wasn't sure what it was about him, but I just felt so _comfortable_ with him. I closed my eyes and he began running his fingers lightly through my hair. As I was drifting off to sleep, I could hear a soft melody coming from somewhere in the distance.

The next few weeks went by without any real craziness. However, after my run in Felix, I was rarely allowed to walk to and from class alone. Almost any class I had, one of my suitemates had one in the same building.

Edward had his afternoon classes in the PAC like I did, so he was always waiting to walk me back after we were finished. He played for my lessons three times a week, and we practiced together whenever we had free time.

Alice and Jasper had become completely inseparable, just as we had suspected. And Emmett and Rose were attached at the hip. Let's just say that Jazz, Alice, Edward and I spent a lot of time together in one room, while Emmett and Rose were in the other. We talked often about finding ways to soundproof the rooms.

Edward and I were becoming more and more comfortable with each other. It was common for us to hug "hello" and "goodbye", as well as sit together when we all went out as a group. If it was movie night in the common room, we were next to each other and I often found myself falling asleep curled into his chest. Kisses on the cheek were given and received; it was like we would just find ways to touch each other even though no declarations were made on either side.

My music classes were…tough. I hated theory with a passion, but I knew it was necessary in order to truly understand the music. Piano was going well, but only because I had Edward tutoring me. Choir was by far my favorite class, other than my private lessons, but even _that _was challenging thanks to Lauren.

I could tell that she resented my replacing her as Dr. Vaughn's private student. On top of everything, he decided to announce the soloists for the Winter Concert in the middle of class one Friday. When he told the group that I had been selected by the teachers as the featured soloist, she lost it.

"What?" she screamed. "Is this some kind of sick joke? There's _no way_ this….this…._nobody_ can be the feature! You know I deserve this. I've worked my ass off for two years to get a feature, and _she_ just waltzes in and gets one handed to her?"

"Lauren!" Dr. Vaughn said sharply. "Get ahold of yourself! You need to leave my classroom immediately. Be at my office in fifteen minutes _sharp_ and we will talk about what this means for you in this program. Go now."

She grabbed her things and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Dr. Vaughn sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I'm very sorry, class. What she did was inexcusable, but I hope you'll recognize it as an example of what _not_ to do in my class. That's all for today, you're all excused. Have a good weekend."

I started to gather my things; the harshness of what Lauren had said finally sinking in. I could feel the tears start to build up in my eyes.

_What did I do to deserve that? I didn't ask to be the feature. Does she really think I'm that bad? Fuck, maybe I should just tell Dr. Vaughn to give it to her. _

Before I could slip out of the room, I heard Dr. Vaughn call my name. "Bella, can I speak with you for a second?" I wiped my eyes quickly, took a deep breath and walked to him. "Bella, don't you dare think that you don't deserve to have this solo. You have worked incredibly hard in the short time that I've known you, and I can't think of anyone better to do this. Don't listen to a word she says. I've never once seen her exude the love and passion for her music as you do with yours." He placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. I smiled sadly in return. "Stay strong, dear Bella. You will go far, trust me." With a smile, he turned and walked from the room.

I took a few minutes to gather my thoughts before I left to find Edward. When I spotted him, he was in one of the practice rooms, putting away his music. I waved to get his attention and when his eyes landed on me he grinned widely for a second. But his smile faltered as he took in my saddened appearance. He rushed to the door and quickly opened it, pulling me inside with him. When the door clicked shut he turned to me and said, "Bella, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

I told him about Lauren's outburst in class. As I recalled it to him, I started to get angry.

_How dare she? She knows nothing about me or what I can do. If she wants to be a bitch about something as trivial as this, then she can just piss off._

After I had my little ranting session, Edward came over and gave me a hug. "I know that she upset you, but I want to tell you how proud I am that you were chosen for the feature. It's a great honor. And even more so for you since you're a freshman; it's almost always an upperclassman that gets it. You'll be fantastic."

"Thanks," I sighed. "Ugh, it's been a long day. Can we go home now, or are you still working?"

"No, I'm done. Let's go." He grabbed his bag and opened the door to usher me out. "How do you feel about takeout tonight? I'm a little worn myself. I just want to sit my ass down on the couch, eat some Chinese and watch a mindless movie. What do you say?"

I laughed as we made our way up the stairs toward the door. "Sounds perfect to me." Once we got to the door, Edward paused.

"Shit, I forgot something. Wait right here, I'll be right back." He bolted back down the stairs.

I sat down on the nearest bench to wait for him when I heard someone coming back up the stairs. "That was fast," I mumbled to myself.

I was just about to stand up when I heard her. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the little brown-nosing bitch," Lauren spat. "I hope you know that you've just made life _very _difficult for yourself here. You're nowhere near good enough for that feature, and when you fuck it up I'm going to be right there to rub your fucking nose in it. You might think you've got everyone fooled, but you can't fool me. I'm the real deal here; you're just a passing fancy."

I finally stood and put my hands on my hips. "Whatever, Lauren. You just keep telling yourself that. I don't really want to get into it with you. It's not my fault you lost your slot for private lessons. Maybe you need to take that up with Dr. Vaughn." I knew it was kind of a low blow, but I didn't expect her to react _quite_ the way she did.

"You bitch!" she screeched. She lunged at me, her arms flailing all over the place. I wasn't going to hit her back, but I did enough to keep her almost at arm's length away.

I heard someone yell, "Shit! Bella!" and I lost my focus for one second. Her hand connected with the side of my head right before she was pried away from me. I stumbled for a second before two strong hands helped me steady myself. I felt a burning sensation in my ear and all I could hear out of it was a loud buzz. I looked around and saw Edward trying to restrain a flailing Lauren; his arms wrapped around her from behind, her kicking and thrashing around trying to get away. Dr. Vaughn was the one who helped me stay on my feet. I could see his mouth moving, but I couldn't understand what he was saying; the buzzing was too loud. I looked at him in confusion.

He reached up to touch my ear, but as soon as his fingertip made contact, I shrieked in pain. Dr. Vaughn frowned and led me to the bench I had been at. He held up one finger as if to tell me to wait. I nodded at him, and watched as he walked to Edward and Lauren. He must've said something to calm her down, because the next thing I knew, Edward had put her down and Dr. Vaughn was leading her back down the stairs by the elbow.

Edward came rushing over to me, kneeling down by my legs and trying to talk to me. I didn't realize I had started crying, _again_, until he ran to the nearby restroom and brought out some Kleenex for me to use. He grabbed a sheet of paper from his notebook and scribbled something on it before handing it to me.

**Are you okay?**

I shook my head in the negative. He took the paper again. After scribbling furiously again, he gave it back.

**Come on, we're going to the ER to get you checked out. She got you pretty good.**

I nodded in agreement this time. I knew how important your hearing was to be a singer. I needed to get this looked at right away.

We got outside and he pretty much held me up the whole way back to the Residence Hall. After climbing in his car, the buzzing started to subside enough to where I could understand his words if he spoke just a little louder than usual.

_That has to be a good sign, right?_

It was a short trip to the ER. Edward helped me inside and took me straight to the nurse at the desk. She smiled warmly at him as he spoke quietly to her. She nodded at whatever he was saying, handed him a clipboard, and pointed down the nearby hallway. Edward led me down the hall, his arm firmly wrapped around my waist to prevent me from falling.

When we reached the room he was looking for, he led me to the bed and sat me down on it. I took the clipboard from him, knowing that it was the paperwork that they needed filled out. He sat on the nearby chair and waited while I entered my information on the papers.

A short time later, the door opened. In walked a beautiful man; light blond hair, ice blue eyes and a killer smile. "Miss Isabella Swan, I presume." I nodded, surely blushing at how hot this man was.

_Almost at good looking as Edward…._

"Hello, Edward" the doctor said with that same bright smile.

_Hold the phone…how does he know Edward?_

Edward smiled back at him. "Hey dad," he replied.

My head whipped around to Edward so fast that I thought I might have to add whiplash to my list of injuries.

_Dad? Oh, fuck me._

**Alright, a little more drama heading our way. Just remember, this is just the beginning of ALL things. And to anyone who might be concerned about why I rated this M...let's just say it'll be earning that before too long! What do we think? Is Felix gone for good? What should happen to dear Lauren? What will daddy dearest think of our Bella? TELL ME!**

**Just think, reviews are better than getting to fall asleep on Edward's lap with his fingers in your hair...*sigh* If only...**


	5. Ch 4 What Is This Feeling?

**A/N: Hello my loves! Yes, I'm back! For all of you who are still with me...THANK YOU! And I promise that you'll never have to go that long before an update again. No excuses, just writers block and a busy summer. **

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, messaged, recc'd, favorited, alerted, and whatever else is going on out there that I may not know about. You guys are the reason I fought through the block. **

**To my incredible support system (you know who you are), thank you for being there for me and letting me bounce ideas off of you. And for letting me vent about certain things ;) I love you!**

**Disclaimer: I don't get to own Twilight. But Composerward...he's ALL mine ;) Yeah, I'm a lucky bitch!**

**EPOV**

Bella looked so shocked when she found out the doctor was my dad. I had to hold back a chuckle at the face she made, but as soon as she saw my shoulders shaking with restrained laughter, I was rewarded with a backhanded smack to the arm. Of course, that just made me laugh even harder. Even my dad was laughing at us.

"Edward," he started, "leave the poor girl alone."

"Sure thing, dad," I responded, grinning all the while.

He turned to Bella and reached out to shake her hand as he introduced himself. "Isabella, I'm Dr. Cullen."

"Just Bella," she said softly. I could tell that she was a little nervous about what happened to her ear. Her body was tense and stiff. I laid my hand gently on hers to let her know that it would be all right and she visibly relaxed. She looked over at me and gave me a small smile.

"Well, Bella. Why don't you tell me what brings you in to see me today?" He pulled a chair up to sit in front of her. He found that it made him seem less intimidating to the patients, thereby causing them to really open up and tell him everything they were feeling. I always thought that it was such a . . . _psychological _approach, but he always said that you couldn't treat all of their physical needs if you couldn't get them to tell you what they were.

"Um, well, I got hit in the side of the head a little bit ago, and I'm having some trouble hearing now. I'm not sure if anything is permanently damaged but . . ." she trailed off and I could see tears beginning to fill her beautiful eyes once more.

I grabbed a tissue quickly and handed it to her. As she wiped her eyes and nose, I spoke to my father. "Dad, you remember Lauren Mallory, right?" He nodded. "Well, she got angry at Bella and hit her."

"Why on earth did Lauren feel the need to hit Bella?" he asked, concern evident in his tone.

"Bella was given the feature solo for the Winter Concert. Lauren apparently thought it should be _her_, so she went into full diva mode. Bella's an amazing singer, so I'm sure she's pretty concerned about the fact that she's not able to hear like she's supposed to."

"That's perfectly understandable. Let's take a quick look and see if there's any damage." He put down Bella's newly made file and grabbed the otoscope (you know, the light thingy they use to look in your ear . . . off of the wall.

I knew that Bella was terrified that she was going to lose her hearing in that ear, so I took her hand and laced my fingers through hers, giving her a reassuring squeeze. I hated to see her wince in pain each time he tugged on her ear. After a few long minutes, he grabbed her file and made a few notes before turning to us and asking Bella a few questions.

"Bella, you said that you were having trouble hearing, yes?" She nodded in affirmation. "Is it better or worse now than it was before?"

"It's definitely better. I can tell that it's not normal, so to speak, but after it happened I couldn't hear anything at all for a little bit. It started getting better on the way here, but it's still off."

"Well, that's to be expected. It looks like you've got three very small puncture holes in your eardrum."

Bella paled when she heard this. "Wait," she whispered. "Does this mean that I'm going to lose my hearing?" Before he could answer her question, I heard her breathing speed up and felt her start to shake.

Something clicked inside of me and I quickly moved in front of her, cupping her face in my hands and forcing her to look at me. "Bella, honey, you've got to calm down," I told her as I grabbed one of her hands. I placed it on my chest so she could feel my breathing; I didn't want her going into a full-blown panic attack. "Breathe with me, Bella. Try to match your breaths to mine."

I knew that having her do that probably wasn't completely necessary, but I wasn't sure what else to do. I just knew that I had to do _something. _When her eyes finally locked on mine, I watched as some of the light and spark slowly came back into them. As her breathing regulated back to normal, it registered to me that my dad had gone and pulled a cold compress from somewhere and was behind Bella, holding it to the back of her neck with one hand and rubbing small circles between her shoulders with the other.

"Are you all right now?" I asked her as I swept some hair out of her eyes. She nodded lightly and dropped her head forward as she tried to hide her blush of embarrassment. I stepped closer to her and held her small form close to my chest. She gripped my shirt at my sides until my father cleared his throat, effectively reminding us that he was still present. I moved out from in front of her, but sat close to her side and kept my arm around her. She needed as much support as she could get right now.

Dad took his seat in front of us again. "Bella? Look at me, dear." She took a deep breath and raised her head to look my father in the eyes. "Bella, you will not lose your hearing because of this. It will be a little . . . off for a bit until the ruptured areas are completely healed. But your hearing should go back to completely normal."

"How long?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"If you are diligent in your treatments, I'd say maybe a couple of weeks at most. But you have to be extremely precise. Can you promise me that?" Bella nodded quickly, then closed her eyes and pressed one hand on her forehead. Dad chuckled a little. "You'll find that you won't be able to move _quite_ that fast for a few days. Your equilibrium is a little off. Now, let's talk treatment."

He detailed Bella's treatment plan for her, stating that he would have everything written down for her. He reiterated that her hearing would seem a little strange for a while. Some days it would be fine, and other days it would be hard to hear things on that side of her.

He stood up and grabbed his script pad, jotting something down before tearing it off and handing it to her. "Okay, Bella. Here's a script for some drops that I want you to use twice a day for the next week. I expect to see you after that week is up so I can check your progress. I really think that you'll be just fine by then, and you should be able to go back to your singing."

Bella looked at my dad with a watery smile, then shocked us both when she hopped off the bed and gave him a fierce hug. "Thank you so much, Dr. Cullen. I can't tell you how much the good news means to me."

Dad laughed again as he returned her hug. "Dear Bella, it's my pleasure to be able to give you good news. Now, don't be a stranger, but it would make me endlessly happy if I didn't see you in here again. Besides, I don't think Edward could take it if he had to see you in pain again." He winked at her as she pulled away from him, and he was rewarded with that wonderful blush.

I stood up and wrapped my arm around Bella's waist, trying to justify it to myself as her needing some support in case she got dizzy.

_Yeah, right._

Well, I don't see her complaining . . . do you?

_I suppose not._

Then shut the hell up.

"Thanks, Dad. I'll make sure we stop by the pharmacy and get this filled before we head back to campus."

He clapped my shoulder and said, "Make sure that you do. And Edward, call your mother. This 'empty nest' thing isn't sitting well with her. I'm sure she'll want to know all about your roommates. Hell, she'll probably insist that you bring them all over for dinner. You know how she can be sometimes."

I laughed. "Yeah, I remember. I'll call her tonight." We walked out of the exam room and said goodbye to my father before making our way back to the waiting room.

As soon as we opened the door, we were accosted by four very anxious looking people. There was a chorus of, "What happened?" and "Who did this?" and "Are you okay?"

Bella just held up her hands, waving everyone down a little. "Guys, I'm fine. Or, at least, I will be in a week or two."

"A week or two? Bella, what the hell happened?" Emmett growled. He had taken it upon himself to be her biggest protector after the last run in with Felix. He started checking her over for any sign of outward trauma.

"Emmett . . . _Emmett . . . _EMMETT!" she yelled. He stopped waving his hands around frantically as she put her hands on either side of his face. "I'm fine. No bumps, no bruises, no scrapes, no cuts, just a busted up eardrum."

"What?" shrieked Alice. "How the fuck did you get a busted up eardrum?"

Bella sighed. "Can we just go home? I promise I'll tell you all about it there, but I'm tired and really just want to relax for a while. Please?"

Everyone murmured their agreement and started toward the door. I kept my arm firmly around her waist, and had to fight my grin as I felt her relax into my side. When we reached the car, I opened her door for her and helped her inside. After she was safely buckled in and the door was shut, I shot a quick text to Emmett telling him to let everyone know that we were going to stop at the pharmacy before heading back to campus.

Two minutes later, we were pulling into the closest pharmacy. Ten minutes after that, we were back on the road with her drops. As we drove along, she read through the instructions my dad had given her.

"What the hell?" she said after a few minutes.

"What's the matter?"

"I have to somehow avoid getting the inside of my ear wet. How do you do that when you have to shower and wash your hair?"

I chuckled at her. "Bella, check out that bag from the pharmacy a little closer." She rummaged through the empty medicine box and the receipt to the bottom of the bag and pulled out a small box. She looked closely at it and the quirked an eyebrow at me, as if to ask me what the hell it was.

"They're silicone earplugs. My mom used to make me wear them when I would swim so that I wouldn't get swimmer's ear. I figured that it wouldn't be a great idea to get water in there while it's trying to heal."

She was silent for a few minutes. I thought that maybe she didn't hear what I said. When I glanced over to her, I saw this strange look of awe on her face.

"Thank you, Edward," she said softly.

I smiled at her. "Sure thing, Bella."

After we got back to the room, everyone sat down and waited for her to explain what happened. Needless to say, no one was happy about it. Rose and Emmett were ready to go find Lauren and "let her have it", Alice was in shock -and surprisingly quiet- over the fact that someone could possibly _not_ like Bella, and Jasper was contemplating ways to hack into the school's mainframe and change her grades so she'd flunk out. I have to admit, I chuckled at that one.

She just laid there, listening to the rantings of our crazy friends, when all of a sudden she sat straight up.

"Enough!" she cried. "Look, I appreciate you guys being concerned for me and everything, but really, I'm _fine_. I can't imagine that Lauren is going to be allowed anywhere near me from now on, and Dr. Cullen said I'd be fine in a week. Two tops. So thank you, but please don't do anything rash. I need you guys _here_, not in jail for murder." She finished her little speech and grabbed the arm of the couch to steady herself, her eyes closing at the dizziness she must've been feeling. I pulled her back down so she was resting on my lap again.

"You all right?" I asked her. She nodded lightly. "Okay. Just rest a little bit. I'll wake you when it's time for your medicine."

"Okay," she whispered as she started to doze off. It'd been an extremely long day for her. The excitement of getting the feature, the drama and craziness with Lauren, then the fear of not knowing if she'd lose some of her hearing . . . it's no wonder she was fast asleep within minutes.

The rest of us chatted quietly for a while until it was time for Bella's meds. Alice got everything ready while I gently woke Bella.

"Bella, honey? Hey, we have to get your drops in. You gotta wake up for me."

"Nuh-uh. Comfy. Sleep more," she mumbled. I laughed a little. She was so adorable when she was sleeping.

"Come on, Bella. Meds, then food, then sleep. You've gotta get this stuff in so that your ear heals right."

"Fine," she grumbled to me. Her eyes parted slowly and I finally got a glimpse of the amazing chocolate that rested there. "Gimme the drops."

Alice handed her the bottle. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts at getting the liquid _in_ her ear, I pulled the bottle from her ever tightening fingers.

"Stop. You're going to squeeze all the drops out and we'll have to get another script from dad. Let me help you." She rolled her eyes at me, but settled back onto the pillow. "You ready? They're going to be a little cold."

"Yeah, I'm good. Let's get this over with."

I shifted a little so I had a better angle, and my heart broke a little when I saw the pain etched in her face as I pulled her ear back a little to open the canal. "I'm sorry, sweet girl," I whispered, not knowing if she could hear me. I quickly released two drops into her ear and lightly rubbed the small hollow spot beneath it to relieve some of the itching that she was probably feeling.

She laid there for a few minutes to let the drops sink in and then sat up slowly. "Thanks, Edward."

"Anytime. Are you hungry?" She nodded. "All right, dinnertime then."

**BPOV**

As Edward and I walked out with everyone to get some food, I thought back on the crazy day I had just had. While getting smacked in the head was, at best, unpleasant, getting to spend extra time with Edward was, at worst, amazing.

Don't get me wrong, I don't _enjoy_ going to the doctor. It's not exactly a favorite pastime of mine, though I seem to end up there more often than not. However, the way Edward held my hand or held me close to him made it so much more bearable. And it seems silly, but I was really touched when I saw that he had thought to get earplugs for me. It's such a small thing, but it meant the difference between a week to heal, and possibly never healing correctly.

The week passed by incredibly slowly. I tried to participate in my music classes, but at times it was really difficult. With the hearing in my ear going in and out constantly, I felt like I was going insane. I couldn't sing because I couldn't hear myself well enough to know if I was right on pitch, so choir and private lessons were out. Sight singing and ear training was out of the question; can't tell what the notes are if you can't hear 'em right. I was basically down to my general education requirements, theory, and piano.

And my poor roommates . . . they had to bear the brunt of my crazed moods. I had snapped at each one of them at some point during the week. Of course, I felt awful afterward and apologized immediately. Each one of them, even Rosalie, had accepted my apology gracefully.

Edward didn't even seem fazed by my epic mood swings. Unfortunately, he had been subjected to my worst breakdown yet. I was working on my theory assignment in the common room. No one was around; Alice dragged Jasper shopping for some new fabrics, Emmett and Rosalie were out to dinner, and Edward was at the PAC working on an assignment.

To say I was frustrated would have been the understatement of the century. I couldn't concentrate and because of that, I just wasn't getting it.

"Fuck!" I yelled, as I threw the book onto the floor just as the door was opening. I dropped my head onto the back of the couch I was sitting on and closed my eyes.

A light chuckle came from behind me. "Now what did that book ever do to you?" I heard Edward ask.

"It's just so fucking confusing! I'm never gonna get this."

"Bella, it's all right," Edward replied as he sat next to me. "You'll get it. Do you want some help?" He picked up the book and set it on his lap.

Now, maybe I was just being irrational, or maybe I'd lost my damn mind, but for some reason his completely innocent offer set me off.

"NO!" I yelled, standing and throwing my hands in the air. "I don't want _help_! What I WANT is to have my goddamn hearing back! I swear to God, I'm losing my fucking mind." I was pacing while I was ranting. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to not be able to do the one thing you love the most? It's miserable! And now, thanks to that bitch, Lauren, I can't fucking hear well enough to even do half of my classes! I'm going to fall so far behind that I'll never catch up." I could feel the tears building in my eyes as I sagged down to the floor.

I wasn't there for more than a couple of seconds when I felt Edward wrap his arms around me and lift me onto his lap. I couldn't stop myself. I cried . . . hard. I sat on his lap and sobbed until I had nothing left. I cried out of anger, frustration, sadness, and a whole slew of other emotions that I couldn't even identify. I felt horrible for yelling at Edward like that, but I was just so angry that I couldn't help it.

Edward was so sweet. He just held me and rubbed my back soothingly as I cried. When he was convinced that I was done, he lifted my face to his and wiped the tears from under my eyes.

_God, have I done anything BUT cry this week? Ugh, he must think I'm pathetic._

"I'm so sorry," I whispered to him. "I can't believe I screamed at you like that. And then . . . all _this_," I said as I waved my hands around my face to indicate the blubbering mess I currently was.

"Bella, it's okay. I know that you're mad and upset."

"Still, that doesn't give me an excuse to snap at you guys at every turn. And all this _crying_! I'm not like this. I don't just cry all the time; it's so ridiculous!" I tried to get up off of his lap, but apparently he wanted no part of that because he just pulled me right back down.

"Stop trying to get away from me, Bella. First of all, you're stressed. We all understand that, so the snapping is a non-issue for us. Second, the crying is just a by-product of everything that's happened to you in the past week. Think about it; the pain alone can be hard to take, but then to have to deal with the frustration of not being able to participate in some of your classes . . . Bella, it's a lot for anyone to handle. Don't be so hard on yourself," he said as he cupped his hand on my cheek.

I must've looked like a wreck, what with the runny nose, puffy, red eyes, and trembling lip . . . but with the way he was looking at me, you'd think he didn't notice. There was something in his eyes that I'd only seen flashes of before. What was it? It was so intense. Lust? Love?

_Don't be ridiculous, Bella. He can't possibly be in love with you._

But I just couldn't shake that there was something _more_ there. I didn't know if it was love; hell, I didn't know if _I _loved _him_, but I did know that I certainly didn't feel just _friendly_ toward him.

"Come on," he said quietly. "Let's get out of here for a bit. You need to eat something, and you need to get your mind off of this." I scooted off of his lap and he stood, holding out his hand to help me up. He took my hand, lacing his fingers in mine, and pulled me to the door. We grabbed a couple of jackets since it was starting to get cooler at night, and headed out.

Once we got outside, he led me to his car and helped me in. He knew very well that I was capable of getting in a car myself, but he insisted that he treat me like a lady. It was really important to him, for some reason.

He climbed in and started the car, flashing me a boyish grin that usually meant he was up to something. As he pulled out of the parking lot, he took my hand again. He held it tightly in his own, as if I'd float away if he let go.

"Where are we going?" I asked, peeking over at him.

"You'll see . . ." he trailed off suspiciously.

"Edward, really. You've known me for _weeks_ now. In all that time, when have I _ever_ liked surprises?"

He pouted a little. "You liked it when I took you to the stage for the first time."

He was right. I _did _like that. Loved it, in fact. It was the most thoughtful thing someone had done for me. I'm a simple girl; I don't need lots of _stuff_. And while getting things was nice, I always appreciated it more when someone took the time to notice things about me and tailored their gifts to who I am.

"Okay, you've made your point," I said as I grinned at him. He shot that smile at me, and before I could register what was happening I felt him lift my hand to his mouth and plant a soft, sweet kiss on my fingers.

I blushed bright red. He must've noticed because I heard him chuckle lowly. I went back to watching the scenery pass us by, when I thought I heard him mutter, "Surely you must know . . ."

We zipped through the city, making our way closer to wherever it was that he was taking us. Finally he pulled up in front of an old building. By the looks of it, I would say that it had been abandoned for years. Edward jumped out and jogged up to the building. After a few seconds, he came jogging back as a large garage-type door opened.

He drove inside, quickly parking the car in a little corner of the large open space. He got out again, and came over to open the door for me and helped me out.

"Um, so what is_ this_?" I asked, gesturing around to the area.

"It's a . . . parking garage," he answered, somewhat evasively.

"Yes, thank you, genius. I got that. How did you know this was here?"

"Because it's mine. Well, not _mine_ but my family's. Mom and Dad bought this building before I was born, intending to use it for an office building for Mom's design firm, but when she found out she was pregnant with me they put those plans on hold. I guess they just never picked it back up. So, we use the garage when we come into the city so we don't have to worry about the cars. It's pretty centrally located, so we can park and walk just about anywhere from here."

I gaped at him. "It's . . . yours?" He nodded. "Like, you can use it _whenever_."

He chuckled at me. "That _is_ what I said. Is that a problem?"

"Uh . . . no . . . it's not," I stammered.

"Well good, let's go," he said as he grabbed my hand and led me out. He stopped by the wall outside and punched a code into a panel that I could now see. It was well camouflaged, so if you weren't looking for it then you would probably never see it. The door to the garage closed, and we were on our way.

Moving to sling his arm over my shoulders, he tucked me into his side and kissed the top of my head. It was so sweet, but different. We've always been sweet and kind of flirty with each other, but this felt like . . . _more_. He led me down the street, never letting me out from under his arm.

"Where are we going?" I asked as I looked up at him. He grinned in response, choosing to ignore the question. A couple of minutes of walking in silence and he led me to the door of a fairly nondescript building.

"House of Fortune. Chinese?" I asked, delighted that he remembered that I loved it.

"Yeah, I thought you could use some good Chinese food; not like that shit they serve in the cafeteria. And this is my favorite place. I haven't been here forever, though." I turned and wrapped both of my arms around his waist, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you," I whispered into his chest.

"You're so welcome, love," he muttered, kissing the top of my head again. "I'm glad I can share it with you."

We walked inside, heading straight for the podium. A young girl, no more than twenty was slouching there, paying no mind to the door- or anything else for that matter, other than her cell phone. Edward cleared his throat, softly.

"How many?" the hostess asked, clearly annoyed with having to do her job.

"Just the two of us, thanks," Edward said politely.

She turned around, snatched a couple of menus from the podium and began leading us to the back of the restaurant. I rolled my eyes and Edward laughed as we followed her.

She stopped next to a table, tossed the menus down and said, "Here you go. Someone'll be with you in a minute."

Edward pulled my chair out for me, and I sat, muttering under my breath, "Wow . . . she seemed _really_ excited, didn't she?" He laughed and walked around the table to sit down.

We weren't there for more than a couple of minutes when a young man came strolling up to the table.

"Hi, I'm Eric and I'll be your server this evening. Can I start you off with something to drink?"

_At least _he's_ in a good mood . . . _

Edward spoke up first. "Bella, what would you like?"

"Um, I'll just have some hot tea and a glass of water."

"Great," Eric said. "And for you, sir?"

"The same. And can we get an order of Spring Rolls, Crab Rangoon, and Pot Stickers? Is that all right with you, love?"

I smiled at him, nodding in agreement of his choices.

"I'll be right back with those." Eric scampered off to what I assumed was the kitchen.

Edward and I chatted for a few minutes until Eric was back with our drinks. He asked if we were ready to order, looking to me and waiting patiently for my answer.

I was thrilled that they had my favorite dish on the menu, so I eagerly ordered. "I'll have the chicken and snow peas," I said as I grinned.

"Excellent choice, Miss. Sir?"

"I'll have the braised shrimp. Thanks," Edward said with a polite smile.

"Perfect. I'll put that in and get your appetizers out soon." And off he bounded again.

Dinner passed by quickly. The food was great, the conversation amazing. Before I knew it, he was paying the check, even though I protested, and ushering me out the door.

His arm was around my shoulders again, so I took a chance and wound my own arm around his waist. This seemed to please him, because I felt his arm tighten around me and his fingers caress my upper arm lightly. We didn't talk on the way back to the car. We didn't need to.

We got back to the garage and hopped in the car, pulling out onto the busy street. I thought we were going to go back to campus, but he surprised me by pulling off onto a sidestreet. He got out and jogged around, as usual, to let me out and led me away from the car.

He held my hand this time, lacing his fingers with mine. I couldn't help but smile at how sweet he was being. Could it be? Was there more here?

_You're doing it again, Bella. You're putting too much stock in to what he's doing. He's just trying to take your mind off of everything. Nothing more._

Fuck you. What do you know?

_Oh, come on. Think about it. Why would he want you when he can have anyone?_

I wanted to grab my inner monologue by her scrawny little neck and strangle her until she shut the hell up. I didn't know if Edward had feelings for me that extended beyond friendship, but if _this_ was what he considered to _be_ friendship, then I'd take it any day.

We walked across a couple of streets and I soon found myself in a little oasis on the edge of the city. I could hear the traffic around us, but it was so peaceful looking that I could almost forget about it.

"Where are we?" I asked him. The sun was setting, casting a beautiful orange-red glow on the scenery around us.

"Grant Park. It's one of my favorite places in the city. I know how hard this last week has been on you. I wanted to do something special for you so that maybe you would have a good memory to overshadow some of the bad ones."

"It's . . . incredible," I said, looking up at him and smiling softly.

We walked in silence for a bit, just enjoying each other's company while the sunlight faded into darkness, streetlights flickering on around us to guide us on the pathway.

Edward kept peeking at his watch while we were walking. I ignored it at first, but after a bit it started to worry me.

"Got a hot date you need to get to?" I joked, trying to keep my voice light and free from accusation.

He looked down at me and smirked. "I'm already on a hot date. Why on earth would I need another one?" I felt my face heat up at his words. He glanced again at his watch and I saw his eyes light up under the harsh glare of the nearby streetlight. He started jogging, tugging my hand to pull me with him. Just a short jog later and I was standing in front of a massive fountain.

He pulled me in front of him, my back to his chest, and wound his arms around my waist. I could feel my heart begin to race at this new level of intimacy he was showing me. The fountain was breathtaking. The architecture alone was amazing, but with the shooting water it was spectacular.

"Edward," I whispered, one hand on top of his, the other up to my mouth.

"I know," he mumbled, his mouth right next to my ear. He was silent for a couple of minutes before I heard him say, "Bella, I need to tell you something." He let go of my waist and turned me around to face him.

_This is it; this is where he tells you that he's found a girlfriend and that you won't be spending much time together from now on._

He must've sensed my nerves, because he cupped my cheek in his hand and said, "Please don't worry, beautiful girl. I just need to tell you this before I lose my nerve."

"What is it? Edward, what are we really doing here?" I pleaded. I knew I probably sounded a little pathetic, but I needed to know what all of this was about. This didn't feel like him trying to cheer me up. And it certainly didn't feel like two friends just hanging out.

"Sweet girl, the first time I saw you, you took my breath away. You looked so exquisite just sitting at that piano, playing that simple tune. I knew right away that you were going to be different than anyone I had ever met. But I couldn't have known just how much you would come to mean to me. When I found out we were suitemates, I thought that fate was playing a cruel joke on me. Surely I wasn't lucky enough to have this angel be so close to me.

"But there you were, right in front of me once again. God, Bella, it took everything I had not to pull you close to me and never let you go. And then you tripped . . . and I got to hold you in my arms. It was the most amazing feeling in the world."

I could feel the tears in my eyes at his words. Was he _really _telling me this? Could it really be that he had feelings for me, too?

He took my hands in his, looking deeply into my eyes. "Bella, you are so incredible. Please, _please_ tell me you feel the same way. Please tell me you need me like I need you." He looked so vulnerable, standing there in front of me and laying all his feelings out for me to see.

I couldn't say anything. I was stunned. Never did I expect to hear those words from his mouth.

_He needs me? He wants to be with _me_?_

I must've been taking too long to answer him because I could see the panic welling up in his eyes.

"God, I fucked this up, didn't I? It's too much, too soon. Or did you already-" I put my hand over his mouth to stop his rambling.

"I do, Edward. I do need you. So much," I whispered to him. His face immediately brightened, and he picked me up in a tight hug, swinging me around in a circle and laughing.

He put me back down and placed his hands on my waist. My hands went to his biceps as he lowered his forehead to mine and closed his eyes.

"Bella, you have made me the happiest man alive right now. Maybe that sounds a little extreme, but I've been waiting for so long to tell you how I feel. I just didn't think it was possible that you'd feel the same way."

I followed suit and closed my eyes, just relishing in the feeling of his body so close to mine. I was lost in the moment until I heard him whisper, "Love, open your eyes . . . look at the water."

I did as he asked, and when I turned my head I saw the most incredible thing. The whole fountain was lit up. It was so stunning; the colors were amazing.

"Oh my god, Edward. I've never seen anything like this. It's so beautiful."

"Not nearly as beautiful as you are. This pales in comparison to what I'm looking at right now." He paused for a few moments, then said, "Will you answer something for me, Bella?"

I turned my head back to him and nodded. I would do anything for him, least of all answer a question.

He ran the back of his hand down my cheek, leaned in and placed a soft kiss on my forehead. "Are you mine, Bella, just mine? Can I hold you and kiss you and touch you knowing that I'm the only one that makes you feel this way?"

"Really?" I whispered. "You want that with me? I mean, you haven't even known me for that long. What if I do something that really irritates you, or what if you find out you really can't stand me?" I rambled.

"Bella, think about it. How can any of that happen? We spend all of our time together already. Between living together, having classes in the same building, and voice lessons, I'd say that I know you pretty well. You don't irritate me, and I can't _ever_ imagine not being able to stand you. In fact, I'd like nothing more than to be stuck in a room with you for as long as you would let me."

As I looked into his eyes in the glow of the fountain lights, I could see that he was telling me the truth. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than for him to kiss me. I wanted to feel the truth that I was seeing.

I watched closely as the emotion in his eyes intensified. It became almost fiery.

"You know," he started, "I almost kissed you that night on the couch . . . after the spider thing. If Emmett hadn't opened his big mouth, we'd be past our first kiss by now. It hurts to think of how many kisses we've missed out on because of that."

_Tell him, Bella. Tell him to kiss you. Do it before you lose the nerve!_

I opened my mouth to speak, but never got the chance. Suddenly, one of his hands came up to cup the back of my neck, while the other went to the small of my back, pulling me toward him. My hands went to his chest, resting on his pecs as his mouth came closer to mine. Just as we were centimeters away from each other, he whispered, "Beautiful," and pressed his lips to mine.

My heart nearly exploded. His lips were soft and smooth, yet firm and insistent as they moved with mine. I angled my head a little, and as soon as I did he ran his tongue lightly across my bottom lip. I opened my mouth to him and felt his tongue dip into my mouth and caress my own. Something exploded inside me and I fisted his shirt in my hands, anchoring myself to him in case this was all a dream.

Edward must've felt it too, because the sweet simple kiss it started out as, quickly became more heated. He groaned lightly and pulled me impossibly closer to him. Our tongues battled for dominance, neither one of us willing to give it up. Regrettably, we had to pull apart to breathe, but as we did he peppered my face with small kisses, mumbling, "So amazing. My sweet, wonderful, beautiful Bella."

I slid my hands up to his face, guiding his head so he was looking at me. I raised up and kissed him lightly.

"Is this real? Is this actually happening to me?" I whispered.

"It's real, love. Every word, every moment, every feeling."

I sighed happily, wrapped my arms around his neck, and placed my cheek on his chest. He held me close to him, saying, "Let's go home, baby. I think we'll have some pretty happy friends when we get there."

I looked up at him and smiled. He pulled away long enough to wrap his arm around my shoulders and begin leading me back to the car. I knew, right then, that I'd never been happier in all my life.

**A/N: No, Bella's not going deaf. I wouldn't do that. As for why she couldn't hear for a bit after it happened...I don't know. This is one of those personal experiences that I draw from. I'm just taking what I've experienced myself and running with it. You have my apologies if it doesn't make a lot of sense, lol. **

**Leave me some love if you liked it! If you didn't, well, feel free to exit out quietly. This is just fun for me, and I'd really like it to stay that way. I'm not aiming to be published, recognized or anything like that. **

**Reviews are better than Edward's lips on yours! Okay, they're not, but still ;)**

**~Rae**


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